


First In Love Loses

by lokidiabolus



Category: The Maze Runner (Movies), The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types, The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Getting to Know Each Other, M/M, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-20
Updated: 2016-09-04
Packaged: 2018-07-25 16:41:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 29
Words: 67,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7540099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lokidiabolus/pseuds/lokidiabolus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If you want something done, do it yourself, or you'll end up like Thomas who thought leaving his fate in hands of his best friend was a good idea. Instead of making his life better he ended up marrying a guy he knew for five minutes, pretending he loved him to bits in front of his family and fighting the disappointment of not liking Las Vegas at all.</p><p>One shots are being added accordingly. The main story ended with Epilogue (chapter 23).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Las Vegas

„That one.“

Thomas followed the lead of Teresa’s hand until he found the place she was pointing at. In the midst of dim lights and never-ending chatter she was showing him a group of several people, all drinking and laughing, sitting around a rather small table in deep cushions and chairs. It seemed like a secluded group, maybe even celebrating something, and he didn’t understand her aim at all.

Not that he understood the sole reason of being here, either. He never felt so out of place before in his whole life and that was saying something.

“Which one?” he gave the group a dubious look. Not only they all seemed paired up, but also kind of unapproachable. At least for him.

“The blond one,” she nudged him forward. “In the black jacket.”

He didn’t see him that clearly, but there was a blond man sitting at the edge of the group, clothed all in black, with leather jacket and skinny jeans, and Thomas wasn’t sure what she was expecting him to say for the offer she had for him.

“A guy?” he glanced at her with a frown and she smirked at him, her blue eyes sparkling with mirth. He suspected she enjoyed it a bit too much for the situation they were in and he definitely didn’t share her sense of humour in this case. “Really?”

“Well, didn’t you want to make a point? He’d make an excellent one for sure,” Teresa nodded resolutely and grabbed his hand, pulling him forward. “Come on.”

He didn’t even know why he let himself to be dragged, but at some point it was probably the reconciliation that flowed through him – or maybe anger that pushed him to go to the extreme, just to show his family they couldn’t control him anymore. When Teresa took the initiative it was a relief, really, but then again it was beneficial for her too, so he couldn’t blame her for being so active in the cause. Maybe if she didn’t, they would stay stuck at one place, with Thomas being thoroughly unhappy and his family winning over, like they always did.

_Yeah, that’s the reason, I guess._

Finding him a guy was her small revenge though, he thought. A bad joke she was going to torture him with for a while, to probably show he should start participating more than with annoyed looks and brooding around. But she wasn’t stopping in her quest to the incriminated spot, and the _a_ little _too much, don’t you think_ thing that was slowly dawning on him the closer they got to the busy table in a loud casino. The while place was darker and flashy, with everybody cheering or drinking or looking thoroughly enjoying themselves and Thomas felt out of place the moment he set a foot in here – gloomy and unhappy. No overwhelming atmosphere in Las Vegas could possibly reach him through the curtain of stress that engulfed him, and they were here for several hours already.

 _Maybe I’m immune to fun already_.

He wondered if Teresa picked this place in hope it would make him abandon the bad mood or because she simply wanted to see Las Vegas and spend some money for the good measure, but all he knew was the place was too loud and he had an imaginary black cloud above his head the whole time.

“Hey, sorry to bother you,” he heard her suddenly talking and he realized they already arrived to the group and they all grew quiet and gazed at them curiously. She waved at them like a school girl and then focused on the blond man (or boy? Damn, he looked so young Thomas suddenly wasn’t sure if he was legal to even be here) sitting at the arm rest with colourful drink in his hand. He was actually a stunning type, with tousled, sandy blond hair and captivating brown eyes, and you definitely would remember him if you saw him somewhere in a crowd. He looked lanky and tall and probably slightly curious, and was watching Teresa with a rather amused expression and Thomas wondered if he was already too drunk to comprehend what she was going to drop on him. He probably needed to be to withstand it, really, even as a joke.

“I have a proposition for you,” she started with a business-like tone and the rest of the group started to laugh. Thomas fidgeted, but her grip on his hand didn’t ease off. If it did, he would run away and she probably knew it.

_Most like definitely knew._

“Gonna be a threesome,” one of them, a black haired young man said like he expected it. He seemed like a jock type, sort of, with casual clothes and cheeky smile. “Twenty bucks.”

“A lap dance, I say,” a blond girl opposed. “Ten bucks.”

“Shush,” the questioned man made a vague hand gesture towards them and returned his gaze to Teresa. He didn’t look interested, but he wasn’t dismissing her either and Thomas wasn’t sure what exactly he thought he was going to hear. “Sorry. They’re like that all the time. What’s the proposition?”

“I’m Teresa,” she introduced herself politely and pulled Thomas closer to her and pointed at him. He felt like a meat on a market and regretted his clothes choice for a moment, since he looked more like ready to funeral than for anything else, all in black. “This is Thomas. His family is a little pushy and they want us to marry, but we don’t really want to.”

“What a story,” the black haired man piped again, snickering in the background, and she frowned at him. He shut up and Thomas counted it as a win for her – her glares had such power.

“The point is,” she continued and finally let go of Thomas hand, so she could cross her arms on her chest in a defensive posture, and he quickly took a step back. “We want to make a point. If he married somebody else, they would shut up about it and would have to take the things as they are.”

“That’s a little extreme,” the blond man commented and his eyes skimmed to Thomas. He seemed to be analysing him before returning back to Teresa, and Thomas felt shiver running down his spine. Surely he didn’t think she was being serious, right? “So…?”

“A short version – are you single?” she blurted out and the man blinked in surprise while the rest of the group _ooohed_. Thomas blinked in surprise and considered reaching for her to stop taking the joke too far, but decided against it in another second. She’d be upset if he interrupted her punchline. “Because that’s a little crucial in this.”

“Yes,” the blond responded simply. “Single, but…”

“Would you mind marrying him?” another quick question and the group started to laugh like crazy. Thomas almost choked. Seriously why did he even think letting her handle this was a good idea? He was never going to live it down, he almost heard her teasing him with _almost set you up with a guy!_ “It’s just a formal thing, it’s nothing kinky or… Just for a year. Or two.”

“A year or two!” the black haired man shrieked in a hysterical laughter. “Can you fucking believe that?”

“A year or two,” the blond repeated with furrowed brows and looked at Thomas as if he was asking him for an explanation. Thomas didn’t have any. Teresa just _couldn’t_ be serious. It had to be a girl, not a guy, _for fuck’s sake_. “I think I’m a little lost? I mean, you don’t want to marry her, but you don’t mind having a random person married to you for two years?”

“It’s not an official marriage,” Teresa answered instead of him. He didn’t feel like he would be able to say anything, really. His voice, along with his brain, was probably broken.

“So why would yours need to be?” the blond opposed. “You can marry him and stay unofficial as well.”

“Dude, it’s against the wish of the parents,” another guy from the group pointed out. He was big and frowny and seemed like a street fighter who opened a beer bottle with his teeth. “If he married her, they would win, capisce?”

“Exactly,” Tesesa nodded in agreement, her posture loosening up again. “They are bit of a control freaks.”

_Fuck, she is not joking at all. She’s setting me up with him._

“So what would happen if he married somebody else?” the blond girl next to dark haired guy asked. She was petite and cute in the face, almost like a doll. “Except of his rebellious soul being satisfied and them getting mad. Are they going to disinherit him?”

“Can easily happen,” Teresa shrugged. Thomas never really thought of it and the sudden mention of it seemed pretty much farfetched. “But that’s a risk we are willing to take.”

“You _both_? Isn’t this more about him?” the questioned blond man stared at her with unreadable expression. “Or are you his Siamese twin?”

“Of course not,” the defensive posture was back. “Of course it’s mainly about him. But it’s going to affect me as well.”

“Oh, yeah, definitely,” the blond hopped off the armrest. He was tall, probably the same height as Thomas if not slightly taller. “You get a pat on your back and several sorrys’ for him being such a douche and ditching you for a guy.”

“Look-,” she started with a sharper voice, but he raised his hand and walked towards Thomas.

“Fine, _Thomas_ ,” he looked up to him and Thomas felt his throat tighten. “Let’s do this. Marriage is one of the remaining things I haven’t tried, so let’s make the best of it.”

“Wait, for real?” Thomas finally realized _the talk_ actually worked and suddenly there really was somebody willing to marry him for shits and giggles, and _oh god, for real?_ A man on top of it. How was he supposed to deal with that? His family would _never_ believe he would marry a guy. _He_ wouldn’t believe it either. How could this even reach this point? They were supposed to find a girl!

“Oh, right,” the blond seemed thoughtful. “Kiss me first. If you’re a lousy kisser, it’s a no go.”

“I-,”

“The marriage is _unofficial_ ,” Teresa uttered coldly. “There really isn’t need for this.”

“I’m sorry,” the blond turned to her as if she bothered him immensely, and by his look she probably really did. Thomas felt the panic attack slowly building up in him. “But isn’t this about _him_?”

She wanted to answer with something, Thomas could see it on her, but then the group started to chant _kiss, kiss, kiss_ and she just grudgingly shut up.

“Don’t worry, I don’t bite,” his soon-to-be husband smirked at him and Thomas gulped down heavily. This wasn’t real, was it? He fell asleep somewhere, drunk and pitiful, and this was just a dream he was having because Las Vegas was crazy enough for it.

“I’ve never kissed a guy,” he said lamely when the image didn’t disappear, his brain not working properly, and earned a genuine smile in return.

“That’s fine, I did,” the blond assured him and then there was a hand on the back of Thomas’ neck and he was dragging him forward, until their lips touched and the group exploded in a loud cheering and whistling. The kiss was surprisingly gentle and a little tentative, no tongue or forceful pressure, and Thomas could barely comprehend what the hell he got himself into, so he just stood there like a tit, motionless and stiff under the sound of clapping from their audience until the blond pulled away again.

“I’m Newt, just for the record,” a slight nudge from his soon-to-be husband returned him back to the reality. “The kiss was alright. Let’s do this then?”

Thomas wasn’t sure how exactly he reacted.

***

The _gay chapel_ in Las Vegas was corny as hell and there were two pairs to wed before them – one young lesbian couple and one gay couple consisting of older men, probably around forty. It was bright and it made him cringe and he seriously reconsidered to run away about every five minutes, because this was not happening, was it? He thought marrying Teresa would be too weird, but _this_ was much, much weirder, maybe on board of insane, and he didn’t understand how he could even consent to this? Or how Teresa could think it was fine and dandy? Because it was not, no matter from which angle he looked at it. Marriage alone was a huge deal, maybe even annoying one in his 21 years, and standing here, ready to marry _a guy he just met_ seemed like the pettiest, the most unreasonable solution to his so-called problem _ever_.

Everything happened like in a single blink since Teresa asked this guy about the marriage. Suddenly he was just a step from the biggest mistake of his life, and the fact Newt’s friends were so pumped to attend the wedding should have probably told him how much of a red light it had been. Because why would anyone wanted to marry after few words and one stupid request? Anyone mentally sane, that was. If Thomas got asked in front of his friends, they would immediately tell him no and dropped about millions of reasons why it was a bad idea, and these guys were like _yeah, do it, yolo!_ Thomas wasn’t sure if it had been because they were already too drunk to really comprehend the situation, or because they simply were the bunch of people he’d normally avoid if he met them somewhere else (he decided on the latter).

They got simple rings from the attendant and Thomas one of Newt’s buddies (Minho? He wasn’t paying as much of his attention as he should have to the introduction, but the guy was loud and drunk enough for Thomas to automatically ignore him) as a best man, because Newt insisted Teresa would be weird on that place when she should have been his bride, and they agreed it was probably true (she looked annoyed by it and Thomas slightly panicked, but if his family ever checked the wedding list, it would make them question it whole for sure. Not that they wouldn’t even without it).

They got married in casual clothes, with both of them wearing black and Newt looking a little like a rock star that decided to take a break from a concert. The priest in Elvis Presley costume didn’t even raised a brow with two men marrying each other and went through a ceremony with a monotonous voice. They exchanged rings, they kissed under another chanting and loud cheering, and Thomas thought his heart would probably jump out of his chest through all this for how wildly it was beating. He wasn’t even sure if it was all stress or a weird kind of dredge of what was going to happen with his family, but he was kind of glad when it all was over and they left the chapel as a husband and husband, leaving bitterness in Thomas’ gut for some reason (well, he knew the reason, but he was still waiting for the reality to kick him in the shin once everything was going to dawn on him some time later).

He wanted to refuse the offer to spend more time with the loud group, but they insisted so they ended up in a bar again and Thomas decided he probably needed to get a little drunk to digest everything that happened in just few hours.

And just this morning when they landed in the LA he thought losing money would be the worst that could happen here.

“Here, drink this,” Newt handed him a shot with clear liquid. Their surroundings was getting slightly blurry and much more louder. “You look like you’re ready to faint, man.”

Thomas thought he was, but he took it anyway and gulped it down in one go, earning a laugh. Newt ordered two more and handed him another while leaning into him comfortably, and Thomas felt his body going rigid under the contact.

“Relax,” his _husband_ told him with a smirk. “If you’re going to need to make your family believe you married me for more than making them mad, you need to get used to me touching you. And vice versa.”

“Are you a professional role player or what?” Thomas grumbled unhappily, but remained on spot. Newt’s presence was warm and seeping into him even through the layers of clothing and the more the night progressed, the more he felt like he made a cardinal mistake. It was uncomfortable and it made him terribly anxious.

Where was Teresa anyway?!

“Nah,” Newt shrugged, but stayed in his personal bubble like he didn’t care it made Thomas tense like a string. “But I work with people. I know how to act so they believe you anything.”

“Really now,” Thomas uttered, gulping down the second shot like it was water. It burned his throat unpleasantly, but his limbs became more relaxed at least. “So what do you do anyway?”

“Told you, I work with people,” Newt shrugged.

_Vague._

“That could be anything,” Thomas uttered. “Even a prostitute works with people.”

His _husband_ snorted and leaned back, so Thomas could finally breathe more freely. The rigidness stayed though, no matter how he tried to shake it off. Seriously, this was a crowned madness, marriage because he thought being a rebel was alright? And for such a stupid thing. There surely had to be a way how to tell his family _no_ without drastic measures, right?

_Too late now, I guess._

The ring on his finger felt like heated torture device. He wanted to tear it down and throw away, and then preferably wake up from this nightmare.

“You’d actually make a really good pair with the bitter girl you brought along,” Newt pointed out, and Thomas would have expected a little colder attitude, but the blond seemed unaffected, keeping the laidback posture easily. “She’s the same grumpy bear like you are.”

“I’m not a grumpy bear,” Thomas protested childishly, feeling a little stupid for it. “It just happened fast.”

“Well, you proposed it,” Newt pointed out and ordered one more shot from the bartender, this time only for him. Then he turned back to Thomas and his features hardened slightly, like he grew more serious. Thomas wasn’t sure what to expect, except of wanting to oppose it was Teresa who came with the idea, not him, but he kept his mouth shut.

“So let me tell you at least one thing, so it’s out of the way,” Newt watched him from half lidded eyes. “I’m no pushover and I’m not going to let anyone, you or Miss The-Marriage-Is-Unofficial, to give me shit for anything. Are we clear?”

_Is he threatening me?_

“Clear,” Thomas rolled his eyes and he probably shouldn’t have been so antagonistic, but there was so much alcohol in his system already he barely held himself from an anger fit. It was Teresa’s idea to find him somebody else, an unofficial marriage – just for the show. They were friends since they were 12, they basically grew up together, so his parents decided it was smart to pair them together for the future. Thomas didn’t agree at all – he liked Teresa, but the idea of being with her like a lover, a husband, made him rather unhappy. As a cliché went, he really had seen her like a sister and nothing more, so when he told her, she came up with the plan of him marrying somebody else for a year, to get his family off his back. He thought it would go through a long process of finding somebody suitable, not visiting Las Vegas and snatching the first single person – a guy in this case – to go with the plan without knowing anything about the man. Because really, he didn’t know who Newt was, he didn’t know how it was going to get down, where did he live or what his financial situation was. Not even his job after all, with the guy being vague and everything.

Working with people. That could have been a professional killer as well.

The sudden marriage, being bound together without even looking him up made Thomas quite pissy. He doubted the plan would work, and when it did, it was already too late. And Teresa seemed unhappy with it as well, even though it was her who initiated it, looking even gloomier than him at the wedding reception. She didn’t say anything – not a peep against it – but he knew her and her eyes told him everything he needed to know.

But if she was regretting it, what was he supposed to feel? He was the one marrying a complete stranger, for fuck’s sake.

“Good,” Newt interrupted his thoughts and smiled at him. It was strangely genuine for a person that didn’t know him at all. “So the wedding night is in order, right?”

“A wedding night?” Thomas froze, his eyes going wide, and Newt burst in laughter he almost toppled over how hard he was laughing. Thomas wanted to kick him to stop, but he was so mortified he just stood there like a tit and waited for him, gnawing on his lower lip.

“Chill,” his husband grinned at him and then extended his hand. “I won’t do anything you wouldn’t like.”

“Look-,” Thomas took a deep breath, his body rigid. He couldn’t possibly expect them to do anything, could he? That was _insane_. Thomas didn’t even swing that way!

Another laugh came his way before Newt waved his hand and then wiped away tears.

“I’m just joking, oh my god, you’re priceless,” he literally giggled, which made him even younger looking, but the offered hand stayed. “I mean we should probably talk about it. You know, families and stuff… I’m not going to ravish you or anything; you’re not even my type.”

“Good to know,” Thomas responded grudgingly, but refused to take his hand anyway. He was probably already too drunk to function after all.

Man, Las Vegas was _a whack_!


	2. The Hotel Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “And then they order a hitman and kill me off?” the blond tilted his head to the side. “I probably should have asked before if you’re part of a mafia family or something…”  
> “Nothing as drastic,” Thomas chuckled. “They will bitch about it though.”  
> “Call me names?”  
> “Too snobbish for insulting you this openly,” Thomas refused.

Newt’s hotel room was spacious and messy. There were clothes about everywhere, in the midst of those even various magazines lying around and empty bottles of champagne with plates of half eaten strawberries taking space. Thomas cringed at the image but Newt didn’t stop and only elegantly overstepped the incriminated obstacles until he reached the king sized bed and hopped on it.

“Not my fault,” he said when he noticed Thomas’ expression. “We were celebrating Minho’s new job here, so it’s a mess. Didn’t have time to clean it up.”

“The room service?” Thomas opposed, avoiding the piles of clothes unhappily.

“I may have left the _do not disturb_ sign on,” the blond shrugged and patted the spot next to him on the bed. Thomas stopped in front of it and shook his head. He was not getting on the same bed with the guy, no matter how many reassurances he got. He still felt tense and out of his comfort zone by a mile, and the fact Newt insisted on learning how not to flinch from a simple touch made him only more miserable.

Not getting too close seemed like the best idea so far.

“Suit yourself,” Newt snorted and Thomas wondered how the hell he could be so fine with it, a complete stranger marrying him? Who did that on daily basis?

“How are you not freaked out by this?” the question shot out from him without breaks and he thought it was because of the high amount of alcohol in his bloodstream. He wasn’t used to drink too heavily, so the floor was spinning after relatively small amount, and it made him even moodier.

“By…?” Newt tilted his head to the side and Thomas vaguely gestured towards him.

“The marriage? I mean, I’m still processing it and you’re like… it’s no big deal?”

“It is no big deal,” the blond shrugged. “You needed help, so I’m helping.”

“Yeah, helping is maybe lending money or talking to somebody while pretending you’re someone else, but this is different,” Thomas crossed his arms on his chest. “If somebody asked me to marry them for this reason, I’d think they are crazy.”

“Well, I do think you’re kinda crazy,” Newt offered simply. “At least the reason why you needed to marry was really stupid.”

Thomas wanted to oppose with something smart, but couldn’t find the words. It was stupid, he saw that when everything had been concluded and too late to change it, and he wasn’t sure why he thought it was a good idea before. Even with a girl it would be immensely awkward, not to mention a guy. If he was supposed to make his family believe they were an item and married because they loved each other he had to do something about his attitude and that seemed like an impossible act.

“Which is also why I wanted to talk about it more,” Newt continued simply. “Because if you decided to do something this desperate, there had to be an apocalypse that made you do it. And I want to know what I got myself into as well.”

“Fair enough,” Thomas agreed and rubbed his eyes. He was getting tired; the clock showed something past one in the morning and the stress didn’t want to diminish at all. “First of all it was Teresa’s idea.”

“Great, so another thing,” Newt stopped him with a sigh. “Stop hiding behind her skirt. Don’t you have a mind of your own or is she controlling your life to the point of choosing what you eat and what you wear?”

“Of course not,” Thomas uttered, surprisingly finding himself offended by it.

“Fine, so you decided to marry to somebody else,” Newt leaned back, propping on his elbows against the mattress. “Instead of her, as your parents wanted you to. Because you wanted to show them they can’t control you anymore.”

“Basically,” Thomas mumbled, gulping down _but Teresa came up with that idea, not me_.

“Wouldn’t _no_ suffice though?” the blond asked with a raised eyebrow. “You know, just stand your ground, telling them you are not going to marry anybody unless you really wanted to and they’d have to take it?”

“They wouldn’t _take it_ at all,” Thomas shook his head. “That’s the whole point of this charade.”

“So they’d kidnap you, put chains on you and forced you to say yes in front of a priest?”

_Well, that sounded stupid._

”No.”

“So _how_ would they manage to get you married against your will?” It was a logical question and Thomas had to admit his reasoning probably sounded stupid, but it was _not_ as easy as Newt apparently pictured it.

His family consisted of a bunch of control freaks; they always had been that way. There was no way anything escaped their notice, as if they had surveillance cameras _everywhere_. Thomas couldn’t possibly even fart without them knowing the goddamn length and consistency of it – as nasty as it sounded. Telling them no meant nothing, they found a way how to make him do everything they wanted to – and when Thomas was younger he took their word as a law. And he still did, somehow, but hated it more and more. He didn’t know what would happen if he decided to refuse everything and leave because he never did that before and because their influence was basically everything he knew.

“It’s not that easy, you know,” he settled on a short answer and Newt seemed rather curious. “You imagine it black and white and things never are that way. I can tell them no, they won’t take it. I can refuse, but they’d play deaf and dismiss it.”

“So leave,” Newt said. “If they piss you off this much, just leave.”

“That’s exactly why you see it as a too simple matter,” Thomas shook his head again.

“Well, if you don’t really want to change things, then I guess we do see it differently in the end,” his _husband_ concluded it. “But I suppose I understand your reluctance to abandon the only life you know.”

“I just want them to respect my opinion as well,” Thomas looked away for a moment, his eyes falling on a half-eaten lunch on the table. He had his stomach so ruffled the mere sight of food made him uneasy, so he looked back at the blond shortly after. “I don’t want them out of my life completely.”

“I see,” Newt nodded in an apparent understanding. “I suppose they controlled you your whole life, so they’re used to you not being able to take care of yourself. You can’t really blame them having a hard time to get rid of the habit, I guess. Especially if you let them do that for so long.”

Thomas blinked in surprise while the words slowly set in and somehow it made a weird sense. Maybe it was the whole point of it? He made them think they could continue with determining his life because he never really showed them it was not the way to go. He fought when he was older, a bit, but never hard enough.

“Never mind that,” Newt interrupted the flow of his thoughts and sat back up. “Let’s operate on this basis then. What do you want to tell them?”

“About the marriage?” Thomas took a step closer, but then stopped again. It was difficult to let his guard down and he wondered if it was going to make things difficult in the future. If he’d look like somebody stuck a pole in his ass it would make his family suspicious for sure.

“Well, if you see something more shocking you want to show them, then be my guest,” Newt snorted and Thomas had to admit it was a stupid question.

“I didn’t really think of it yet,” he mumbled. “I didn’t expect to find somebody.”

“But you did,” Newt shrugged. “So if you want it to be believable, I suggest we agree on something that wouldn’t be too corny.”

“What, like meeting in a casino, fall in love at the first sight and marry is not believable enough?” he smirked and it was easier to joke somehow, probably how the tenseness started to dissipate slowly. Maybe it was also the alcohol and late hour, he wasn’t sure.

“Sure is,” Newt returned the expression in amusement. “Just not sure your family would really take it seriously and wouldn’t demand an immediate divorce.”

“They still might, even with a better excuse,” Thomas shrugged and took another step closer, this time enough for him to finally sit down next to the blond. Newt didn’t do anything, but he smiled slightly at him.

“And then they order a hitman and kill me off?” the blond tilted his head to the side. “I probably should have asked before if you’re part of a mafia family or something…”

“Nothing as drastic,” Thomas chuckled. “They will bitch about it though.”

“Call me names?”

“Too snobbish for insulting you this openly,” Thomas refused. They probably would call him names, but behind his back. He mostly expected deadly glares and loud voices, maybe nasty comebacks and embarrassing questions. He probably should have prepared Newt for that.

“So we know each other for two years by now,” Newt fell flat against the mattress and stared into the ceiling. He still looked like a rock star, since he didn’t take off his clothes, and Thomas wondered if it was his style or he wanted to impress in Las Vegas. “Do you travel? Ever been to Europe?”

“Yeah, once in France and once in Italy,” Thomas nodded a little sleepily. “France was three years ago though.”

“That’s fine,” Newt waved his hand. “So we met in France three years ago, yeah?”

“Please don’t say on the Eiffel tower.”

“Nah, I don’t fancy heights too much,” Newt grinned. “Makes me woozy. Let’s say… a café?”

“Sure,” Thomas’ imagination was a whack for these things, so nodding in agreement had been the best thing that could happen. If he was supposed to think of something by himself, they’d end with the lame casino-fall in love-marry scenario.

“And we kept the contact and then met in USA and dated.”

“They wouldn’t believe I was openly dating you, they’d know about it,” Thomas opposed with a sigh. “They’re pretty sharp about these things.”

“Secretly dated then, even though it sounds stupid,” Newt offered. “And when they came up with you marrying the grumpy girl, you panicked and we married, because yolo.”

Thomas snorted; it was basically what he thought of Newt when he first agreed on the marriage, a _yolo_ type, him and his friends altogether. Hearing him saying it was cracking him up.

“Still sounds cheesy, but I guess it’s better than nothing,” he commented. “Our options are rather limited.”

“I suppose they are,” his companion agreed and watched him quietly for a moment, before a light touch landed on Thomas’ forearm, making him flinch. “Chill. So tell me, why not marrying the girl you were with?”

“Teresa is like my sister,” Thomas retorted and tried to shake off the urge to move away.

_This is going to be difficult._

“Is she?” The touch stayed and Thomas felt himself tensing even more.

“We kind of grew up together,” he tried to get his mind off of it. “The image of marrying her in a romantic sense is making me uneasy.”

“Flattering,” the blond uttered and the touch disappeared. Thomas could breathe freely again. “I still think it would be the lesser evil for you. It would be how your family wanted, but you could divorce her as easily as well, and not attempting anything romantic-related. I’m pretty sure playing lovey-dovey along with her in front of them would be easier than it’s going to be with me.”

Thomas stiffened. That was true – they _had to_ play along in front of his family and it needed to look natural. He completely forgot about this aspect of the arrangement and the sudden realization froze him over.

“ _Much easier_ ,” Newt added while watching him. “You’re going to take lots of work, mate.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetad!


	3. The Next Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “All alone, Bambi?” suddenly a pair of hands gripped his shoulders and then slowly slid down, to his chest. A heavy weight fell on his back and he found himself stiffening under it like somebody covered him with liquid nitrogen. “Mate, I’m not going to strangle you, relax for a bit.”  
> “Sorry,” Thomas mumbled, but his body refused to let go of the tenseness stubbornly, even though he was aware it was Newt there. Or maybe because it was him precisely.

“Where were you the whole night?”

“Good morning to you too,” Thomas greeted Teresa with a cringe and sat down at the table almost boneless. His head was working overtime, probably even grew an anvil over night to bang against it nonstop, and everything louder than a whisper was killing his brain cells. He didn’t understand how Newt was able to function in the morning, so sprightly right the moment he got out of the bed, probably even ready to run marathon with so much energy, even though he drank more than Thomas and Teresa altogether. Thomas could barely stand on his feet when he woke up, not to mention he fell asleep at the edge of the bed, curled there, and his body hated him for such position. He only watched the blond for several minutes before common sense kicked in and he returned to his own and Teresa’s room. She was already gone when he arrived, so he could at least take a shower and change in silence, but with a headache worth an award.

There were many aspects to reconsider from the talk they had during the night. Thomas decided Newt wasn’t a bad guy at all, judging from the whole encounter. He was rather empathic and had some interesting opinions, and talking with him about how fucked up his family was made him realize they weren’t fucked up at all, just a little overboard with controlling their kids. And he was right - there were families a lot more fucked up than his. It didn’t really diminish the need to rebel against them though, and Newt seemed to understand that, even though he looked like the ordeal was going take a lot more energy than he thought it would.

Which was probably right, judging from Thomas’ constant flinching when he touched him. A long term lovers – now even a married couple – wouldn’t act that way. The bad thing was he had no idea what to do about it, except of trying to get used to it, somehow.

“You didn’t even text,” Teresa continued sternly. He glanced at her tiredly and she looked pristine as ever, in white costume and hair perfectly combed back, and he, on the other hand, probably looked as bad as he felt. “Where were you?”

“Had a chat with Newt,” he mumbled, pouring himself a cup of coffee. He felt so damn tired he had a bad feeling not even the blackest coffee in the world would help him. “Fell sleep there.”

“Oh?” she raised an eyebrow. She didn’t look happy at all and Thomas kind of wanted to remind her it was _her_ idea, but Newt’s words kept on ringing in his head, about hiding behind her skirt, so he kept it to himself. “Well, that was fast.”

“My head hurts like hell,” he mumbled and sipped the coffee with a frown. It tasted terrible, but the caffeine should have helped him to get at least from the initial apathy, if not the headache. “I’m not drinking ever again.”

“Serves you right,” she uttered. “You didn’t need to drink with them; you could have come back to the room.”

“They insisted,” Thomas opposed. “Look, I had to talk with him about it. It happened so fast I’m pretty sure he barely comprehended what was exactly the point of it, so he wanted to know.”

“And what’s the conclusion?” she stared at him with an unreadable expression and Thomas rubbed his eyes sleepily.

“Well, good, I guess,” he yawned. “He’s down to it.”

“Isn’t it strange?” she asked suddenly. “I mean, random people come to him, ask him to marry one of them and he just says yes?”

“Why are you against it now?” he gave her an annoyed look. “It was your idea, so here it is.”

_Oh well, I said it anyway._

“Yes,” she shrugged, but the way her shoulders tensed he knew there was more than she was saying. She was mad about it and he couldn’t put a finger on why – she picked Newt, personally, she asked him to marry Thomas, personally, so if she wanted to be angry about it at somebody, it should have been her alone. Thomas just went along the flow because everything was sort of evil in his book anyway, and quite frankly it probably still didn’t dawn on him fully yet, the real consequences of being married. “And I admit it was hasty.”

“Too late,” he grumbled.

“I know, but…” she grew quiet for a moment, apparently contemplating how to continue, and then shook her head. “I should have looked him up before. It was impulsive. He could be a bad egg – even the way he acts is a little fishy, but it occurred to me too late.”

“Is it?” Thomas glanced back at her from his coffee and for some reason he didn’t like what he heard. Of course, he couldn’t say much about his _husband_ , since he spent only few hours talking with him, but there was nothing bad about the way he acted. If Thomas wanted to be honest it was actually welcoming and smart, so he couldn’t really complain about that side of him. If it was only an act, Thomas didn’t know, at least not yet.

“Logically, if somebody asked you to do this, wouldn’t you want to know if they don’t want to just dump their bills on you or something? Wouldn’t you ask about their background? And he just said yes and nothing else, it’s fishy,” she put down the glass of juice she had been holding and sighed. “I’ve been trying to look him up yesterday but didn’t really find anything, so I will check up on him more once we get home.”

“Sometimes I really don’t get you,” Thomas concluded it with a sigh and ignored her for the rest of the breakfast, since her voice made his head hurt even more.

***

“They expect us tomorrow. We should book the flight.”

“Alright,” Thomas nodded, looking at his phone quietly. It was probably saying something his family sent the info to Teresa and not him, and the more he thought of the upcoming reception where he would tell them the marriage news; the more he was dreading it. It was going to be fucking awful for sure.

Not to mention Newt didn’t reply either and it had been already half an hour. Thomas was getting restless and his headache got worse, even after he took a pill and drank the whole fruit bar.

“You want coffee?” Teresa offered calmly and stood up. Since breakfast she seemed meek, somehow, as if she was trying to not to antagonize him, and he wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t like he snapped at her or anything. “I’m going to get one, can buy you one too.”

“Maybe water, thanks,” he smiled at her nevertheless and she left without another word. He wondered how she expected it to go at home? He mauled over the meeting since he woke up, imagining all kind of reactions - from vicious shouting to cold, wordless staring contest and neither of those was something to look forward to.

“All alone, Bambi?” suddenly a pair of hands gripped his shoulders and then slowly slid down, to his chest. A heavy weight fell on his back and he found himself stiffening under it like somebody covered him with liquid nitrogen. “Mate, I’m not going to strangle you, relax for a bit.”

“Sorry,” Thomas mumbled, but his body refused to let go of the tenseness stubbornly, even though he was aware it was Newt there. Or maybe because it was him precisely. The touch disappeared right after and Newt circled his seat and sat in front of him. He was in more laidback clothes, with hair tousled and eyes sharp, looking much more approachable now, and gazed at him in a silent question.

“I texted you,” Thomas cleared his throat awkwardly under the scrutiny and Newt nodded. It was strange to now, in the broad daylight, and his eyes skimmed towards the ring Newt had on display and then back to his face. “But you didn’t reply.”

“I was on my way, so I thought I don’t really need to,” the blond shrugged, thankfully ignoring Thomas’ embarrassment. “And I had to take care of stuff, sorry for delay.”

“It’s fine,” Thomas said lamely. “It’s just that we are expected tomorrow at home and I’ve wanted to ask you-,”

“Tomorrow is fine,” Newt interrupted him with a shrug. “Nothing really holds me here.”

“For real?” Thomas blinked in surprise. That was easier than he expected. “I mean, your friends and all…”

“Well, we celebrated what we wanted to celebrate, and I don’t care where I spent the rest of my vacation anyway. This place is not exactly my forte either.”

“Don’t fancy Las Vegas?”

Not that Thomas fancied it either – it was nice to see it, but it was loud, shiny and a little too obnoxious. Although it might have been just because his mood was so foul.

“It was fine the first day, and enough the first day as well,” Newt commented, perfectly grasping Thomas’ own impression of this place. “So if you want to leave by today’s evening, which I guess you do, if they expect you tomorrow, then it’s fine by me.”

“Is always everything so easy with you?” Thomas blurted out without thinking, because really – normally people would have plans for such trip, or want to be with their friends more, but Newt was always quickly done with everything without seemingly giving it much of his thought and as much as it was convenient, Thomas didn’t really understand how he was doing it.

“Not everything,” Newt chuckled. “But I try. I’m here to help you after all, not making things more difficult.”

“I never really asked what you want in return?” it suddenly occurred to him, because Newt was helping him without any conditions, there surely must have been something he expected to get out of it, right?

“I didn’t give it much of a thought,” the blond responded simply. “Nothing I guess.”

“But-,”

“Oh, you’re here,” Teresa’s voice interrupted him like a guillotine and Thomas completely forgot about her going for that coffee, so when she handed him a bottle of water, it took him a second before he realized why.

Really, no more drinking, it was making him stupid.

“Hello to you too,” Newt greeted her leisurely and she sat down next to Thomas without another word, with an attitude of an ice queen Thomas knew very well. It didn’t look like Newt had been bothered by it though, and Thomas really hoped this was the worst she was going to do. As if they didn’t have enough trouble on their plates already.

“Your friends are staying here longer?” he decided to ignore her pouty stance as well while opening the water bottle and Newt smirked.

“Well, that bunch of zombies didn’t even rise from the dead yet, so it would be impossible for them to leave anyway,” he said in amusement. “But yeah, they’re staying for few more days.”

“You really don’t mind leaving them here?”

“I really don’t mind leaving them here,” the blond shrugged. “They’re qualified adults; they can take care of themselves. Most of them. The ones that don’t are usually taken care of by the ones that can.”

“Well, judging from how they looked yesterday night I’d be surprised if they’re going to rise at all,” Teresa uttered. “Even you, but maybe you’re already used to drinking a lot?”

“It would be a waste to get too drunk when I got married last night, wouldn’t it,” Newt shot back, his expression undisturbed and Thomas had to admire his patience. “Which makes me wonder why you didn’t want to marry him, after his performance I have to admit he’s a very gifted individual.”

“Newt!” Thomas groaned in a horrified tone and his husband grinned at him.

“Sorry, sorry,” he reached to him and patted his shoulder. “It’s just that her face makes me want to bully her.”

“Really,” she glared at him and Newt winked cheekily while stealing Thomas’ water and then taking a swing of it before returning it back. Thomas was so mortified he barely noticed.

“Can’t help it,” the blond shrugged, looking back at Teresa. “You remind me of my ex from head to toe, it’s a little annoying. You even have the same attitude.”

“I understand why she left you then,” Teresa struck back mercilessly and Newt hummed like he agreed, but didn’t say anything else.

Thomas kind of wanted to disappear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetad!
> 
> I'd fancy me some Las Vegas though :D


	4. Practice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’ve wanted to ask,” Thomas cleared his throat, tearing his eyes from their joined hands back to Newt’s face. “I mean, we’ll have about… 9 hours before the mandatory dinner, do you have some business to attend to before or are you free?”  
> “A shower, probably,” Newt offered. “Some sleep?”  
> “Oh yeah, I’ve counted the sleep in and the rest of the way and an hour before we get out of the airport, so…” he trailed off, feeling stupid for explaining it this way, and Newt’s lips curled up in a smile. “I mean if you don’t mind…”  
> “I don’t mind,” the blond interrupted him softly. “Spending time with you.”

“Mate, stop fidgeting.”

“You’re heavy!”

“Let me call Gally here and we will see who is heavy.”

“Who the hell is Gally?”

“Can you two shut up already?” Teresa’s voice hissed from the seat in front of them and Thomas gulped down another salve and grudgingly let himself to be pushed back against the backrest. Newt held him there with a hand on his chest for a while, eyes narrowed and little suspicious, and when Thomas didn’t make any other move against it, he slowly released his hold and sat back as well.

“We are meeting them tomorrow and you act like I’m going to bite your head off all the time,” Newt grumbled quietly and crossed his arms on his chest. “I don’t know about you, but this is really not the best way how to introduce me to them while you jump out of your skin every time I touch you.”

“You caught me by surprise,” Thomas uttered back. He couldn’t help Newt decided to make him his new pillow during the flight when Thomas was already half asleep, and the sudden contact made him yelp and trash around.

“Do you have a touching problem or something?” Newt glanced at him from under his blond fringe that was falling freely into his brown eyes, and he didn’t look angry per se, but definitely a little exasperated. “I mean you do that all the time with everybody.”

“I don’t do that with everybody,” Thomas refused instantly.

“Fine, except of Miss-Shut-Up-Already,” Newt sighed. “Taken you know her since you were a kid, so I guess that doesn’t really count. And your family, I suppose.”

“It does count,” Thomas remained stubborn and Newt shook his head, then rested his hand on the armrest and opened his palm.

“Take my hand.”

Thomas stared at him, then at the hand and back at Newt and sighed.

“Why now?”

“Just bloody take it,” Newt groaned. “Seriously, once I do that in front of your family and you go like _what do you want_ you think it’s not going to be suspicious at all? It needs to be natural, you see? Without thinking, just _do it_.”

Thomas grumbled something incoherent and grabbed the offered hand with a hiss. It probably looked angry than like a gesture of closeness and he wasn’t surprised when Newt rolled his eyes and let go.

“Forget it,” the blond concluded. “Pushing you makes it even worse.”

There was visible agitation in him and Thomas felt slightly bad for it, but his head still hurt and there was bitter taste in his mouth he couldn’t get rid of, no matter how much water he drank, and when he finally managed to nod off, he got woken up and it made him even pissier.

There were still two hours of the flight left and as it normally would mean a long time to him, now it felt like minutes, since they were getting closer and closer to his family, which was ready to shred them all to pieces after learning the news.

Well, maybe except of Teresa. They adored her, so she would be forgiven no matter what kind of felony she would cause (Thomas would say it was unfair but he knew better).

All in all – everything from above made him agitated and nervous and it really wasn’t the side of him he wanted Newt to know right from the start. Not that it really mattered – not with the marriage being a hoax and all – but it still didn’t cause him any pleasure to show him what a nervous wreck he could become when there was too much pressure from too many sides.

Not to mention his bum already hurt from all the sitting.

He fidgeted a little, finding better position, and then settled back with a sigh. Why was he making his own life harder like this? And why he dragged more people into his misery? He glanced back at Newt who had been apparently dozing off as well, and wondered how the hell was this going to work out when Thomas was skittering every time a touch came. At this pace they would never make it believable, no matter how hard Newt was trying and how lamely Thomas was reciprocating.

They had like... twenty hours. Maybe. Minus two of this flight, minus an hour before getting out of the airport, and then maybe minus eight for sleeping and… that left them with 9 hours before his family was expecting them for dinner.

_Impossible._

He had to do something about it. They didn’t do all of this only to fail at the main test, did they?

He slowly reached for Newt’s hand that had been resting on the arm rest in between them and carefully brushed his fingers against the knuckles. There was no reaction at all and Thomas frowned a little – maybe Newt was already asleep? Then he looked back at the blond’s face and encountered an amused smirk and brown eyes staring at him, very much aware of the gesture that just happened.

“Um.”

“Well, it’s a start,” Newt shrugged and left his hand where it was, only turned it palm up. Thomas hesitated only a second before sliding his own hand into his awkwardly, immediately getting their fingers intertwined.

It was… fine.

“I’ve wanted to ask,” Thomas cleared his throat, tearing his eyes from their joined hands back to Newt’s face. “I mean, we’ll have about… 9 hours before the mandatory dinner, do you have some business to attend to before or are you free?”

“A shower, probably,” Newt offered. “Some sleep?”

“Oh yeah, I’ve counted the sleep in and the rest of the way and an hour before we get out of the airport, so…” he trailed off, feeling stupid for explaining it this way, and Newt’s lips curled up in a smile. “I mean if you don’t mind…”

“I don’t mind,” the blond interrupted him softly. “Spending time with you.”

“Ah… okay then,” Thomas gulped down the rest of the arguments he had in a case Newt would counter with something, and slid lower in the seat.

This was no damn date, so why did he feel so embarrassed?

***

“I will meet you at home.”

Thomas had barely time to react before Teresa’s retreating figure was disappearing in the crowded airport and all words died in his throat before he could properly form them. Right the moment she got her suitcase she left like a fire had been chasing her and left Thomas standing there without much of a bye, holding Newt’s hand in almost a death grip.

“Ouch,” the blond piped and Thomas let go with a jerk, muttering apologies. “’s alright. Sorry it got her mad though.”

“It’s not that. I don’t know why is she acting this way lately,” Thomas mumbled in an annoyed voice. He had been holding Newt’s hand the whole flight and quite frankly almost forgot about it when he dozed off, which was a good sign. When they got out of the plane, Newt offered it again with a shrug and Thomas took it, considering it a good practice how to get used to the contact they were supposed to react to without a single flinch. Teresa mostly rolled her eyes at it, but didn’t specifically say anything or made faces, so he didn’t think it was aimed at the concrete gesture.

„I’m just saying what I see,” Newt shrugged while grabbing his luggage as well. It wasn’t very big, like he didn’t want to stay in Las Vegas for too long anyway. “And I see it’s bothering her I keep on touching you.”

“I don’t think so,” Thomas muttered tiredly. Teresa was many things, but jealous of this stupid thing definitely not.

“At all? I think she wouldn’t mind marrying you, you know,” Newt told him quietly and started walking towards the exit. Thomas immediately followed him and frowned slightly.

“You don’t know that,” he opposed. It just didn’t seem like her at all and he had experience with her moods for 9 years already.

“I’m working with people on daily basis, mate,” Newt chuckled, leading them through the busy crowd with ease. Even at such late hour the airport had been packed to the brim. “I recognize the signs.”

“Even if,” Thomas huffed in annoyance, his head hurting no less than it did in the morning. “What should I do? It’s too late anyway.”

“I don’t know what you should do, I’m just stating the facts,” Newt glanced at him over his shoulder. “You have about a year to think about it.”

Thomas refused to. He believed Newt could recognize lots of things about other people, but Teresa was _not_ secretly in love with him, as well as he hadn’t be secretly in love with her. Or anybody else.

“Whatever,” he retorted dismissively. “Let’s get a hotel and some sleep. I’m already tripping over my feet.”

Newt’s pace stuttered for a second, but then the blond just nodded and let them towards the line of taxis waiting at the exit.

***

“Oh, so you have no private place outside of the family house?”

“Never really needed it,” Thomas shrugged. He had a key to a hotel room in his hand and the elevator was taking them to the seventh floor in a languid pace. The hotel was relatively big and between the firsts they encountered and Thomas seriously didn’t care which one they chose, as long as he could sleep there.

_God, so sleepy._

Newt’s expression had been a little off the whole way from the airport and even here, but Thomas could barely put a finger on it, or any proper thought not involving a bed.

“Well, that explains it,” he heard the blond saying, but dismissed it completely once the elevator reached the destination and they manoeuvred towards the room. It was a relatively small one, with two beds and a nice bathroom, and Thomas fell over right the moment he reached the end of the mattress. He wasn’t really aware what Newt had been doing, although he heard him moving around the place quietly.

“Should we sleep together?” he asked sleepily and the movement stopped to halt abruptly.

“Uh,” came with uncertainty. “I don’t know? Would your parents expect us sleep in one room or…?”

“Not sure,” Thomas mumbled into the blanket he mashed his face against. “Logically they should… right?”

“Depends of how much of prudes they are,” he heard somewhere near him, then the mattress dipped next to him under Newt’s weight. Thomas didn’t have any strength to turn over, so he just blindly searched for him until he collided with his leg, probably.

“I don’t know,” he muttered. “I never saw them dealing with… stuff like this.”

“Fully straight family, eh?” Newt’s voice was close and sort of soothing. He had a nice accent, although Thomas couldn’t say for sure if it was British or something else. It did had a nice ring to it though, a little sharper, probably, but sound.

“If somebody is not, they’re pretty good at hiding it,” Thomas concluded with a sigh.

“Well, they can’t really pull _after marriage_ card, since we’ve already done that,” there was a light touch on the top of his head, raking through his hair, and Thomas found himself humming at it comfortably. His eyes began to close as if an invisible force had been pulling his eyelids down and he only snuggled closer to the warmth. It felt weirdly good.

He was aware there were words being sad but he couldn’t distinguish their meaning anymore, and then darkness swallowed him whole.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetad!
> 
> Let's get through all of the overused tropes! "Forced to sleep together" check! :D (or did they :o)


	5. Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Surprise me,” Newt told him simply and turned back. “Come on.”  
> Thomas took a deep breath, took one step closer and two steps back, and then slowly walked towards the blond and hesitantly put his hands on his shoulders, squeezed him like he was a cushion that needed to be adjusted and then let go. Newt gave him one look, rolled his eyes and handed him the plate.  
> “You’re hopeless, mate,” he concluded, exasperated. “God help us.”

He woke up into a dimmed room and a smell of pancakes. He couldn’t say what time it could have been or what day, but he felt rested and at peace and it sort of felt like it normally took more than few hours of sleep to get such ideal mood.

He remained lying tangled in sheets for a while longer, slowly taking in his surroundings, before he realized it had been a hotel room and not his home, and that he wasn’t alone in there, when his eyes fell on the blond man sitting at the table, reading something on his phone while eating pancakes with a fork.

Then it came rushing back to him and made him sit up while his stomach clenched uncomfortably under the onslaught of dread and nervousness from the upcoming event.

“Morning,” Newt noticed the movement and glanced at him. He looked like nothing really bothered him and Thomas envied him that kind of calm, even if it was only for show. “Breakfast?”

“Yeah,” Thomas mumbled quietly and crawled out from the bed. He still had his pants, and it took him a second before he realized he fell asleep fully clothed right the moment his head touched the pillow. “Sorry for crashing so suddenly yesterday.”

“No problem, mate,” Newt shrugged while loading a new plate with pancakes. “I was tired too. It had been a long day.”

“For sure,” Thomas agreed and was glad at least his headache was gone. He stretched, few joints popped loudly and Newt chuckled at it, and then gestured to him to come closer. When Thomas stopped at the table and reached for the plate, Newt avoided his hands and cleared his throat.

“What?”

“What what?” the blond gestured in between them. “We are a couple, so aren’t you forgetting something?”

“Am I?” Thomas let his hand fall with a raised eyebrow. “Um… thanks for the food or…?”

“Sheesh,” Newt let out a long sigh. “Just imagine this is breakfast with your parents. And you come to the table, in love with me of course, see me and what would you do?”

“Oh,” Thomas let out lamely. “Right. Sorry.”

He hesitated, then took a step back and flexed his fingers. What was expected at a situation like that? A hug or… what? He stood on a spot for a moment, feeling stupid, and when Newt gave him a questioning look, he fidgeted nervously.

“What do you want me to do?” he asked for a good measure and Newt snorted, putting the plate back on the table.

“What would you do if I was your lover?” he tilted his head to the side and Thomas shrugged lamely. “Think, mate.”

“Greet you with good morning?” he tried. “But still, I’d probably already done that in the room before, why would I need to do it again?”

“Well, I got up earlier than you, so you didn’t see me leave,” Newt opposed and turned to him fully. “So this is the first time you see me today. Good morning works fine, but there should be at least some kind of contact.”

“Okay,” Thomas nodded shortly. “Like?”

“Surprise me,” Newt told him simply and turned back. “Come on.”

Thomas took a deep breath, took one step closer and two steps back, and then slowly walked towards the blond and hesitantly put his hands on his shoulders, squeezed him like he was a cushion that needed to be adjusted and then let go. Newt gave him one look, rolled his eyes and handed him the plate.

“You’re hopeless, mate,” he concluded, exasperated. “God help us.”

***

If Thomas thought 9 hours was a long time to actually get used to something, then he was terribly mistaken. They managed to get out of the hotel with 6 hours to spare, then got lunch in the city centre which got them to 4 hours to spare and suddenly the taxi was driving them to Thomas’ house in a leisure speed and the clock was ticking its last hour. Thomas’ stomach was floating somewhere in space, making him uneasy and little sick, and the more the house was getting closer, the paler he got.

“Chill,” Newt suddenly squeezed his hand in a comforting gesture. “They’re not going to kill you. What else would be there to fear? If they shout, you shout back.”

He nodded, but didn’t feel like it helped. He wanted them to respect his opinion and his free will, but suddenly this kind of solution seemed like the worst possible idea he ever had. Like because of this they would completely ignore him and demand a divorce and he wouldn’t be able to tell them no because never could and it’d only backfire into his face.

And Newt was going to see his inability to do anything against his own blood and it was already such a mortifying thought he could barely look his _husband_ in the eye without an apology on the tip of his tongue.

“I’ll back you up,” Newt assured him lightly as if he was reading his mind. “Don’t worry. Just don’t give up.”

“Yeah,” Thomas piped. “Don’t give up.”

He felt sick.

The taxi stopped in front of a big house and perfectly green lawn and Thomas’ stomach was clenched like something held it from the inside in a deadly grip. They pulled their suitcases out of the boot and when the taxi disappeared back in the night, the sole reality of them actually being here, in the hell pit, dawned on Thomas like a ton of bricks.

“Should I know something important before going in?” Newt’s voice interrupted him. He was dressed almost formally, with white shirt and a black jacket, and Thomas was sure he would make a good impression on them if there were different circumstances. “Like not saying certain words in front of certain people or not petting domestic animals or not making faces at the fish in the fish tank?”

Thomas shook his head, his breath hitching a little.

“It’s just,” he tried. “There is my aunt Ava. She’s the head of the family and the hardest to impress with anything. She practically raised me, my mum died when I was 6.”

“Oh,” Newt touched his arm gently and Thomas was glad he didn’t flinch under it. Maybe it was because he was already paralyzed with fear. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” he shook his head. “Just saying she is the worst mother hen of them all and sharp.”

“Understood. Anybody else?”

“My uncle Janson,” Thomas stared at the door with a slight frown. “He’s naggy. Don’t let him provoke you, because he’ll try to get you where he wants you.”

“Naughty,” Newt commented with a chuckle and Thomas rather didn’t want to imagine anything along the word’s meaning.

“My cousin Brenda,” he rather continued. “She’s always suspecting people being the worst unless she’s proven otherwise.”

“I’m bloody lovable though,” Newt opposed and smirked when Thomas glanced at him quietly. “Okay, I get it, gotta prove her otherwise.”

“Then there is-,” he got cut off when the front door suddenly opened and Thomas took unconsciously a step back until a short haired girl with big, brown eyes appeared in between them and shot both of them a serious look.

“Geez, I thought you’re the pizza guy since the light on the porch was lit for so damn long,” she groaned and opened fully. “You’re late by the way.”

“Hey, Brenda,” Thomas squeaked and Newt waved. “Sorry. The traffic was bad.”

“Sure it was,” she focused at Newt and looked him over. “S’up.”

“S’up,” the blond greeted her back. “Nice shirt.”

Thomas barely noticed in his panic attack, but Brenda was wearing a shirt with a slogan: _There is no need to repeat yourself. I ignored you just fine the first time_ , and a really colourful leggings. He suspected she did it because she knew Ava considered it a formal dinner and she wanted to rebel a little. She had the age for it anyway.

“Thanks,” she said simply. “Yours not very original though.”

“Was not allowed to stand out, sadly,” Newt let out a shrug.

She watched them for a bit more, skimming from one to another, and then grinned.

“Flash news, you already do,” she told them almost maliciously and disappeared back in the house. Thomas let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding until then and gave Newt an apologizing look.

“She’s adorable,” Newt told him as if in an answer to his silent question and grabbed his luggage. “Let’s go?”

Thomas didn’t trust his vocal chords, so he simply nodded and started walking up the stairs. Each step was harder than the previous one.

***

If Thomas hoped Ava wanted the dinner to be family-oriented only, that hope broke down into million pieces the moment they entered the dining room. The family was there, alright, but it wasn’t the only presence that filled the room – and Thomas was glad Newt was standing behind him, because he stopped him when he tried to back up.

Ava invited friends too.

Lots of friends. Thomas was already mortified. He immediately spotted Teresa sitting at the table with Aris and Rachel, and it almost made him run away.

There was about everybody he knew ready to hear he got married to a guy.

 _This is unreal_.

“Thomas!” Ava finally spotted him and immediately walked towards him with a pleased smile that gradually diminished the closer she got, precisely the moment she spotted Newt as well. He wasn’t sure if she had been informed by Teresa already or it was solely on him to break it to her, but he knew she sensed something happening nevertheless.

“She knows,” he whispered towards Newt hastily and the blond raised an eyebrow. “Fuck.”

“You’re late,” she told him once she breached his personal space and gave him a rather cold hug. That was the main reason why he was adamant she already knew.

“The traffic,” he blurted out and she let go, her eyes immediately finding Newt. She looked him over several times, then returned back to Thomas and apparently waited for an introduction.

“This is Newt,” he took a step back and reached for the blond, grabbing him by his elbow. Newt took a step forward with him and watched Ava with a neutral expression. When Thomas couldn’t get the rest out of himself, Newt glanced at him shortly and then extended his hand to the blond woman.

“Good evening,” he said simply. “Newt. Thomas’ husband, as you apparently already know.”

She took his hand, shook it lightly and let go with her red lips pressed into a thin line.

“I’ve expected you to be smaller,” she said sternly, looking him down, and Thomas’ heart started to beat like a drum. So she _did_ know. Did Teresa tell her? But why didn’t she say anything about it? They could have worked out some tactics, not her letting him get caught red handed. They really needed to talk after.

“Sorry to disappoint,” Newt retorted easily. “I consider myself average.”

He was taller than her, and at the same height as Thomas, but at the same point Thomas never felt smaller in front of her like he did now.

“Are you British?” she asked, tilting her head to the side and Thomas tightened his grip on Newt’s arm, although he wasn’t sure why. Maybe to keep him calm.

_Don’t let her provoke you with anything._

“I was born in London,” Newt answered without any change in his tone and Thomas was grateful for it. “But we moved to America when I was ten.”

“Your accent remained though,” she pointed out as if it was a crucial thing and Newt nodded.

“It did.”

“I like it,” Thomas blurted out when she opened her mouth to deliver another question and it made her stop. She looked at Thomas quizzically, but didn’t say anything, and he was glad, even though he really didn’t know why he said that. He just couldn’t think of anything else to shut her up with, and Newt’s accent really was pleasant, so he didn’t lie anyway.

“He likes it,” Newt shrugged, his lips curling up in a smile, and Ava took a deep breath, as if she was calming herself down.

“Dinner is about to be served. Go find a place to sit.”

With that she retreated back to the crowd, her high heels clicking rhythmically into the distance. Newt glanced at Thomas with a smirk and gently nudged him.

“Good job.”

“Likewise,” Thomas whispered back, his grip on Newt’s arm unrelenting. “Keep it up.”

He found a spot further from Ava’s though, just in case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetad!
> 
> Families, oh boy.


	6. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Well, it’s Newton, but I like Newt better,” Newt shrugged leisurely. “Makes it less grandpa-like.”  
> “Newt is weird,” she insisted.  
> “Newt is just fine,” Thomas uttered dryly and she shut up. “And this is exactly a reason why I didn’t tell you about him earlier. Your zero chill.”  
> “I have plenty of chill,” Aris protested. “Dude, we are almost besties, I can’t believe you didn’t tell me either! I didn’t even know you’re playing for the gay team!”

“You really got married?”

Thomas expected the question right the moment he and Newt sat down, and he didn’t even had a concrete person he thought he would hear it from, because all of them were going to ask anyway. The fact it had been Aris as the first person didn’t come as a surprise at all though, but even since he knew it was going to happen, he remained staring at the guy without a single word.

“Guess that’s a yes,” Aris commented with a quirk of an eyebrow while looking at the ring, and then focused at Newt. “Sooo, how did this happen?”

“An immediate decision,” Newt shrugged and Thomas seriously admired how damn calm he had been about the whole thing. There were people he’d never seen before and who watched him with suspicion and asked him weird questions and he always just smiled at them and keep the completely open attitude like he was doing this on daily basis or had a really high tolerance Thomas kind of envied. He alone felt like a walking mine, ready to explode if somebody pushed too much.

“What, you met and got married?” Aris snorted and Thomas would laugh if he wasn’t freaking out they were onto them.

“Wouldn’t that be romantic,” Newt commented without a single flinch and Thomas reached for a glass with wine and gulped the content down like it was water.

“Dude, you okay?” Aris was now staring at him and Thomas managed to nod only while trying not to shake. Then there was an arm slung around his shoulders and Newt pulled him closer as if he wanted to protect him.

“He’s a nervous wreck, sorry,” he answered instead of him and Thomas was kind of grateful. “He had been stressing over this night for days and now he just reached his peak I guess.”

“As always,” Aris sighed and nudged Thomas shoulder. “You’re never going to change, dude.”

“Yeaaah,” Thomas managed to pipe. He had always been bad with pressuring matters and stressed over simple stuff needlessly, so it wasn’t anything new. The bad thing was Newt already saw it and it hadn’t been exactly a quality Thomas wanted him to uncover so early.

“But seriously,” suddenly Rachel butted in as well and Thomas realized that meant Teresa was possibly alone now and he really needed a word with her. Since it all happened she acted like a complete idiot and he didn’t know if it supported Newt’s theory of her being interested, which would totally blow off the logic of her searching for a partner for him, or if there was some other reason neither of them saw.

“Earth to Thomas!” he felt a poke on his chest and quickly returned back to reality where all three of them stared at him like he grew another head.

“Stop spacing out!” Rachel pouted a little and then pointed at Newt. “Again – how is it possible you never told us about him?”

“Newt,” the blond added to it. “I have a name.”

“For real?” she didn’t look convinced. “That’s what your parents thought is the best?”

“Well, it’s Newton, but I like Newt better,” Newt shrugged leisurely. “Makes it less grandpa-like.”

“Newt is weird,” she insisted.

“Newt is just fine,” Thomas uttered dryly and she shut up. “And this is exactly a reason why I didn’t tell you about him earlier. Your zero chill.”

“I have plenty of chill,” Aris protested. “Dude, we are almost besties, I can’t believe you didn’t tell me either! I didn’t even know you’re playing for the gay team!”

“Maybe try it a little louder, I think granny Martha didn’t hear you,” Thomas glared at him unhappily and Newt snorted. His arm slid down along Thomas’ back and rested around his waist. It was strangely intimate and Thomas had to force himself to keep still. Judging from Newt’s smile he probably got mentally praised for it.

“Granny Martha thinks you’re just pals,” Aris pointed out. “You know, like Brenda and her gal pal Harriet…”

“Please stop saying gal pals,” Rachel rolled her eyes. “You sound creepy.”

“That’s pretty much his default setting,” Thomas sighed. “And if it makes you feel better, nobody knew about Newt.”

“Teresa did,” Aris opposed indignantly. “Jerkface.”

“Guess she was also the one who told you all about it before we got here,” Newt added to the conversation and let go of Thomas so he could prop his elbows against the table. The sudden absence of his touch was strange and Thomas fidgeted uncomfortably. “What a party pooper.”

“Well, at least Ava didn’t get a heart-attack,” Aris commented. “If you just strolled in here without her knowing about the marriage, you bet your sorry ass you’d be flying out with her heel stamped on your butt.”

Thomas noticed Newt glance at him and slightly nodded. Aris wasn’t wrong, that was a reason why Thomas had been so stressed about it. He expected her to _rage_ , because not only it spoiled her plans of him marrying Teresa (she got morbidly obsessed about it), but doing something like that behind her back and then throwing it in her face could seriously backfire. It was a risk Thomas was willing to take (or 50 % willing), but it could still end badly.

“One good point for her then,” Newt said simply. “Amongst like hundreds of bad ones.”

“Shush,” Thomas nudged him with his knee. “I’m going to talk to her. Wait here?”

“Sure,” Newt shrugged. He didn’t look like he minded and Thomas was glad – he didn’t enjoy leaving him alone here, but he really needed to talk to Teresa before she was going to disappear again.

“If they swarm you, shout,” Thomas advised him and he wasn’t even joking. Newt grinned and waved him off and when Aris with Rachel stayed with him, he considered it considerably safe to distance himself and find that little betrayer.

***

Teresa was good at hiding. If he didn’t know her for so long, he probably would have troubles to track her down in the second floor’s balcony. But it was the usual meeting spot and that also meant she expected him to do this, so there had to be more going on.

“So,” he walked onto the balcony with a slow pace and she didn’t even turn towards him. She was in a light blue summer dress and her black hair was freely cascading over her shoulders down to her waist. “Care to explain the whole charade you put on?”

“What charade?” she responded, staring into the distance, and Thomas stopped next to her with a sigh. She looked really pretty tonight, like she wanted to make a point, but he wasn’t sure to whom. “I just prepared them for the impact. You know how Ava would rage if I didn’t do that.”

“Yeah, sure,” Thomas uttered. “I mean the whole other stuff. Playing it unfair against Newt, leaving the airport like we stunk, I mean seriously? What’s gotten into you?”

She finally looked at him and at least didn’t seem to be angry, which was a plus point.

“I was tired, Tom,” she retorted simply. “Tired and cranky and in a bad mood.”

“I got that.”

“I’ve wanted some nice sleep and then dig the guy out,” she continued sternly and Thomas raised an eyebrow.

“Dig the guy out?” he repeated the phrase. “You killed somebody that you have the need to go dig the body again?”

“Don’t try to be funny,” she frowned and Thomas let out a long sigh. Seriously, lately he didn’t get her at all. “I get you’re kind of simple in these things, but people can be bad too, you know?”

“You lost me,” he crossed his arms on his chest. “What are you about?”

“I told you,” she turned to him fully. “It’s nice we found somebody so fast and he agreed to marry you, but in retrospective it was _too_ easy and I got scared he meant bad business. That he did it because there was something he could get out of it – whatever it was. A green card, money, debts, other weird stuff possible.”

“Aw, you do care,” he tried to joke again, but Teresa only scowled more, so he stopped. He understood the concern, but Newt was alright. He was a nice person and he did it to help, so such hard core suspicion was a little insulting. “You do realize it was you who picked him though.”

“Yes, but I didn’t think he would agree this easily,” she shook her head. “Or anyone else, you see. I thought he would have questions and then we would check for each other’s backgrounds and stuff, not that he says yes and an hour later the wedding bells ring.”

“Ah.”

Well, it made sense. Newt did agree easily, but even though Thomas didn’t know him for long, he just gave that laidback vibe. Everything with him was easy, like he always found a compromise or held back so he could help others to archive their own goals first. He seemed like somebody willing to trade his own good for others, as cheap as it sounded, and somehow Thomas couldn’t believe he would mean any harm.

Plus, they were all drunk. He was pretty sure the brain simply simplified everything while inebriated, so at that point it was even easier to agree.

“You still didn’t need to act like a dick though,” he pointed out unhappily.

“Acting like a dick would presume I have one, which, thankfully, is not the case,” she smiled at him sweetly and he rolled his eyes. “Well, sorry. I guess. It happened so fast I realized I could have pushed you into a really dangerous position, so I was mainly angry at myself. Plus, I thought if I was mean to him, he would lash out somehow, or show a bad side, so I’d have an argument for you to be more careful.”

“Is that so.”

“He’s such a fucking saint I found it sickening though,” she groaned. “It’s like he found his fucking zen or something. Nirvana guy or whatever. So that made me even pissier.”

“You have issues, Tesa,” Thomas shook his head but couldn’t stop the smile. “You could have told me at least. I thought you have some jealousy thing going on there.”

Or Newt did. In retrospect it really did look like it, so he couldn’t blame the guy.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” she waved her hand and turned back to the view of the balcony. “I do love you, of course, but there is a reason why I didn’t want to marry you either, you see?”

“I’m too handsome for you?” he offered with a quiet laugh and she made a barfing noise.

_Cheeky!_

“But I admit,” she tilted her head while staring into distance. “It did pique me a little how handsy he got with you and how easily you gave in.”

“Easily gave in? I beg to differ and Newt would too,” he opposed vividly. “He said I’m hopeless!”

“Well, yes, you are,” she cheekily agreed on it. “Probably the first thing I can share his opinion on. But even so, it _did_ look like you were involved though.”

“Yes?”

“He made it look that way,” she shrugged and looked a little ashamed for it. “It was just weird to see you like that with somebody. You never got involved to this point, so it took me a while to deal with it.”

Thomas nodded and slung an arm around her shoulders, so he could shake with her a little, which made her laugh. He could breathe easier, knowing this, even though she could have handled it better.

But oh well. _Women_. Maybe there was a reason why he ended up with a guy, since he didn’t understand them at all. Even though it was just a fake.

“No hard feelings then?” he asked her with a smile and she nodded, her expression clear and body relaxed.

“It may take me a while to get used to him,” she admitted grudgingly. “But I will manage. He doesn’t have any bad records, is not a criminal and he has a psychology degree, so maybe that is a reason why he’s able to manipulate people so easily.”

“Manipulate?” he cringed at the word and then it hit him. “He has what?!”

“Didn’t talk to him about his job?” she didn’t look very surprised though. Newt said he _works with people_ and that was all, and Thomas didn’t really pay much of his mind to it. But a psychologist degree was really something.

“Is he a psychologist?”

“Nope,” she flung her black hair to the side like she wanted to make a point. “A physical therapist, actually. Thought it was interesting, there was a record of him going through the therapy as well when he was a teen, but didn’t find out what happened.”

“Your connections are still shady though,” he uttered dryly. When she took a breath to continue, he put a hand over her mouth to stop her. “Don’t tell me anything else. If he wants to tell me, he will.”

She only nodded so he released her and took a step back. She stared at him for a while, like she was trying to analyse him, and then leaned against the railing.

“You kinda like him though, don’t you.”

“I like him just fine,” he responded quietly. “But tell me – what did you say to Ava and others about us?”

“That you’ve married a nice British guy and are going to adopt lots of babies,” she grinned at him. “In a slightly better way, but this is a gist of it.”

“What did she say?”

“She turned red, then green, then purple and then paled. Brenda started to laugh and said she knew you were gay all the time, Janson told her to stop spouting nonsense and Chuck asked what gay means. When Ava was able to talk again, she sputtered something about going to have a smoke and came back three hours later. Think she still tries to deal.”

“That doesn’t sound _that_ bad,” he tried with an awkward laugh and Teresa smirked.

“Well, Brenda wasn’t the only one who thought you have hots for guys though…” she pointed out innocently. “Think about it.”

All Thomas could think of was how he was ever going to live this down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetad!
> 
> Nobody in that family has any chill.


	7. Retaliation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Think she’s purposely avoiding me,” Newt focused at her as well. “Maybe trying to put in motion if she ignores this hard enough, it will go away.”  
> “Is that your professional statement?” Thomas snorted. Ava didn’t like when things were done other way than hers, but she never ran away from problems. He expected her to retaliate soon enough.  
> “Just a civil one,” he more felt than saw Newt shrug. “Sometimes the family, who should support you the most, is putting up the toughest fight when it comes to different sexual orientation.”

Newt didn’t shout in distress, but when Thomas got back to the dining room, he found him literally swarmed by his family from all sides, and his blood ran cold. Seriously, had they no common sense?!

He stomped towards the place with a frown and when Newt spotted him, he saw an evident relief in his eyes, and immediately felt bad for leaving him alone here like this. Aris and Rachel were nowhere to be found (he thought they were probably smooching somewhere as always) and it apparently made the rest of the vultures think they could usurp him.

“What the hell is this, meeting of the witches?” he fumed and the crowd turned to him.

“Hey, Tommy,” Newt immediately reached for him and Thomas closed the distance, which made at least a breathable space from the rest of his family. Several girls giggled at the pet name, but Thomas glared at them, so they stopped. He didn’t even know them; they must have been somebody’s friends.

“Told you to shout if this happened,” he mumbled towards Newt in a low voice and the blond shrugged.

“No big deal,” he assured him, even though it couldn’t be very pleasant, judging from how many naggy people gathered around. “I managed.”

“He was just telling us how you met in France,” Brenda’s voice made him find her in the crowd, her lips stretched in a Cheshire cat smile while she had been leaning over the table in her super colourful leggings. “I didn’t know you can actually flirt like a normal human being.”

“Very funny,” he rolled his eyes and made a shooing gesture at her. It didn’t look like she wanted to go, but when others actually started to disperse; she grudgingly followed them as well.  

“Sorry about that,” Thomas sat down next to Newt with an exasperated sigh. “I should have expected them to do that.”

“Told you it’s no big deal,” Newt smirked. “I suppose your reputation precedes you.”

“My reputation?” Thomas blinked in confusion. “I didn’t know I actually have any here.”

“Mhm,” Newt leaned closer to him and Thomas accommodated, feeling all the stares from his family burning through them. “How it went with grumpy bear?”

“She’s fine,” Thomas responded quietly. “No hard feelings. No hidden love feelings either.”

“For sure?” the blond glanced at him in surprise and Thomas wondered if he was so adamant about it that being proven wrong shocked him. “I’d have sworn…”

“Nothing to worry about,” Thomas assured him. “We talked it out.”

“Alright then,” the blond shrugged and resumed his resting position. “I will try not to worry about being assassinated at night too much.”

“She’d probably use poison in your food anyway,” Thomas chuckled and when Newt offered him his hand, he took it without hesitation. “So what did they ask about?”

“How we met, where we met, when we met,” Newt named it simply. “Brenda asked how good are you in bed and somebody scolded her for it.”

“Probably Janson,” Thomas sighed. “For fuck’s sake. Hope you didn’t told her anything.”

“I didn’t have a chance, sadly,” Newt retorted with a snort and Thomas groaned. Seriously, if Newt started talking about their non-existent sex life, it would probably be the last nail in the coffin.

“Ava didn’t ask anything?” he wondered when he spotted the blond lady on the opposite side of the room in a vivid talk with one of her friends. He was pretty sure she already regretted she made the occasion so big and pompous when he was the bearer of – for her – bad news. Or Teresa, since she told her first, but it was probably still too late for her to call off the dinner as a whole with so many people present.

“Think she’s purposely avoiding me,” Newt focused at her as well. “Maybe trying to put in motion if she ignores this hard enough, it will go away.”

“Is that your professional statement?” Thomas snorted. Ava didn’t like when things were done other way than hers, but she never ran away from problems. He expected her to retaliate soon enough.

“Just a civil one,” he more felt than saw Newt shrug. “Sometimes the family, who should support you the most, is putting up the toughest fight when it comes to different sexual orientation.”

“Yeah?” Thomas tilted his head to the side. He never really thought about such issue, since he didn’t consider himself being a part of it, but since he had to play along with this he probably should have. He knew lots of people was still against gay orientation but he thought his family was alright – strict maybe with most of the things, but not homophobic. The sudden mention of it made him wonder if Ava was actually capable to digest it with dignity or if she really was going to put up a fight.

“I’d say it’s almost alarming, really,” Newt commented. “When you have a baby you swear you’d love it no matter what. And then it shows it’s different and suddenly the oath is gone and you have a problem with it and try to change it.”

Thomas quietly nodded and looked at their joined hands. It must have been tough being refused by your own family for being yourself and he couldn’t possibly imagine living such life. His family was tight-knitted and everybody knew about everything – and that was also the main issue about Thomas’ current status that he didn’t tell anybody about it. He was pretty sure Ava took mainly offense in that.

“So how about your family?” he asked before he could stop himself and felt Newt stiffen. He mentally kicked himself for mentioning it, but then Newt’s body relaxed again and the blond let out a sigh.

“Well,” he drawled. “They dealt with it. Somehow. Took some time though.”

“I see,” Thomas responded lamely and suddenly Newt let go of his hand straightened back up, like he put a barrier in between them. “Sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry about,” the blond smiled at him and Thomas couldn’t tell if it was just a cover or if he was honest. He considered Newt pretty much okay with his life, even though he didn’t know what his past actually entailed, but his body language just a moment ago as if told him a different story.

He watched him reaching for a glass with wine and taking a sip and realized he actually really wanted to know more about him, because as much as Newt held his open attitude up, he didn’t really tell much about himself in overall.

Hell, Thomas didn’t even know how old he had been. He didn’t bother to look at the wedding day when they wrote their date of births there on the list, and he couldn’t really tell just by looking at him either – if he took it by appearance, then he would say Newt was in his teens.

But Teresa said he worked as a physical therapist, so he couldn’t be _that_ young – which meant she probably knew his age as well. But Thomas decided to be stubborn and find out by himself. He just wasn’t sure how. Simply asking would be weird.

“Come with me, you two,” Ava’s voice suddenly rang above him and he realized he had been staring at his _husband_ for a bit too long without any real mean to do so. He quickly shook it off and nodded, standing up, while Newt followed him without a word.

When he realized Ava had been leading them to her office, he knew she meant business and the retaliation didn’t take as long as he hoped it would. 

***

“Care to explain why you actually got married without telling us about it?” she started sternly when she stopped at her table, and Thomas gulped down heavily. She stared first at him and when he couldn’t get a single word out of his throat, she focused at Newt. “Your family had been present, Newton?”

“No, m’am,” the blond refused the claim simply. “Just a bunch of my mates.”

“Your _mates_ ,” she repeated coldly. “Well, that’s nice. So my question stands – why didn’t you tell anybody about it?”

“I didn’t want to marry Teresa,” Thomas blurted out and saw Newt glancing at him with the corner of his eye. “And you were pushing it, so I panicked and...”

“We were thinking of telling you about us for a while,” Newt added to it when Thomas ran out of steam and her cold eyes fell back on him. “But somehow never found a good opportunity. When Thomas told me about the deal with Teresa, I came up with the marriage.”

“You did.”

“Yes,” Newt boldly agreed on it and Thomas had to hold his panic bottled up. Was he taking the responsibility all on himself? But why? “I love him and I refuse to give him to anybody as long as he wants me back. I thought it was the best solution for the moment.”

“To simply marry, because it’s such a little thing,” Ava uttered venomously. “Being this irresponsible – _both_ of you! Do you have any idea what marriage even means?!”

“Well, mostly just a cultural anachronism,” Newt shot back and crossed his arms on his chest. “But they say if you want something, you should put a ring on it, so there we go.”

“A cultural anachronism,” she repeated the phrase sternly. “Alright, so let me put it this way. Have you even thought about the future? Being in love is nice, but where is the practical side of this situation? A job? Do you even know Thomas is not working yet? That he’s actually still a student? There is no income, no usable background he has. He has no place except of this where he could live, he has no experience in how to build a life with somebody.”

“Ava-,” Thomas tried, but she glared at him, so he shut up again.

“And what about you? A student, with no background as well, just thinking that you want to be with him so why not?” she returned to Newt fiercely and the blond remained stationary under her stare, and sort of unapproachable.

“Are you done?” he asked her with narrowed eyes and Ava looked taken back for a fraction of second before her expression hardened again.

“Not in the slightest,” she spitted out. “But if you feel the need to defend yourself while not sounding petty, then by all means.”

Newt watched her for a moment as if he was contemplating the worth of his energy invested in it, but then let his arms fall along his body and let out a long sigh.

“I have a place in New York. My own. I pay for it. It’s big enough for me, for him, and probably for like twenty other people,” he said and it was the first time Thomas heard such a piqued tone on the guy. It somehow made him taller and prouder and older and Thomas realized he was about to hear things he didn’t know as well and it made him feel ashamed. “I work at the private clinic for three years already. I’m well respected, well payed and people there know very well I don’t take shit from anybody. So if you think you can give me hell by looking threatening and assuming things you didn’t even check before, then I must disappoint you. I _have_ thought this through. I married him because I wanted to, because I could and because he really needs to get the hell out of this place.”

The silence fell around them like a heavy curtain and Thomas was almost afraid to breathe so he wouldn’t destroy the fragile moment of suspense. Ava looked neutral when she was staring back at Newt, probably digesting what she just heard and he could already tell she didn’t like it at all.

“Is there anything else you want to shout at us for?” Newt asked her with obviously faked willingness and she took a deep breath and leaned back against the table behind her.

“Not at the moment,” she cut out.

“Then if you excuse me,” he turned around and left without another word, leaving Thomas and her alone in the room. Thomas thought of going after him without any other words exchanged, but he could not – he had his own thing to say as well, as much as he dreaded this moment, he had to. He sent a mental _sorry_ to Newt for not supporting his point yet, and stayed.

“That wasn’t really necessary,” he pointed out unhappily. “Attacking him like that.”

“It wouldn’t be necessary if you actually _told_ us you’re dating somebody for _three_ _years_ ,” she uttered dryly, her eyes still glued at the closed door through which Newt left. “I can’t believe you went that far and married him as well without a single word to your family.”

“You’d say no,” he mumbled.

“Of course I’d say no!” her voice raised up again and now she had been watching him again – or better glaring – and he thought she would come and slap him, but then she calmed down immediately, it was almost eerie. “You’re twenty one, you know _nothing_ about life.”

“That’s unfair,” he defended himself with a frown. “You still think of me as a child, but I’m not anymore, Ava. _This_ is exactly a reason why I did it without you knowing.”

“For what? So you could show me you can do bad decisions all by yourself?” she let out a weird, almost laughing noise out of her throat, but it sounded somewhat broken. “Well, congratulations then. You can also deal with the divorce the same way you did with the marriage, when the time comes, once he gets tired of you being completely clueless in everyday life.”

He could almost taste hers _I told you so_ one year ahead and it made him sick in the stomach.

“So my choice is bad, but yours would be alright?” he shot back insistently. “If I married Teresa it would be fine and dandy, wouldn’t it? Suddenly I wouldn’t be _incompetent_ or _clueless_ , because that’s how you wanted it to be.”

“We would support you in that case,” she retorted coldly.

“But you won’t support me in this one,” he concluded and didn’t even need to hear the answer. It was pretty much apparent from her posture. He opened his mouth to say something more, but no words came, so he only turned around and left the office in silence, but with burning anger rising up in him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetad!
> 
> Ba-dum-tss.


	8. Independence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I don’t consider you a child or incompetent, mind you,” Newt assured him softly. “Actually I don’t really have any label for you. I’m just glad you managed to get out of the house, and since I apparently sped it up, I just feel obligated to offer you a place to stay.”  
> “To a complete stranger,” Thomas pointed out and Newt shrugged.  
> “Well, we are married.”  
> “Our marriage is really not the best example of not being strangers though,” Thomas opposed with a sigh. “I mean, we know each other for two days.”

Newt was waiting for him only few steps further from the office doors and looked about the same as Thomas was feeling. His posture radiated annoyance and he had arms defensively crossed on his chest, and Thomas thought it was more or less how everybody had to look after meeting with Ava for the first time.

“We’re leaving,” Thomas said right the moment he approached him and there was surprise in Newt’s face.

“Leaving?” he repeated in confusion. “But that would only prove her point, surely-,”

“I don’t want to stay here any longer,” Thomas shook his head and felt the blood in him boiling. “She’s such a fucking hypocrite! Telling me I’m going to suck in the marriage, but if I married Teresa suddenly all would be fine because she said so, I can’t even deal with that shit anymore.”

“Ah,” the blond frowned and glanced back at the door like he was trying set it on fire. “I see. Go pack your stuff then and let’s be on our way.”

Thomas didn’t even ask about anything else, his steps led right to his own room and if anybody tried to stop him at that moment, he would probably punch them. He usually never clashed in such a degree with Ava – yes, their opinions varied a lot the older he got, but she still had power over him so he bent to her will no matter what.

But no more. This was the last drop and he couldn’t take any more from her. This was probably one of the worse outcomes he tried not to expect, but still lowkey knew they could happen, so he found himself reconciled with the fact he was leaving after she proved his point of being unable to let go of his reins. He had enough – it would be bearable if she just said she didn’t agree with his decision, but since he made it, she was going to respect it. But the fact she perfectly fulfilled his fear of not only refusing his choice but also giving him shit for it, had just done it.

“What are you doing?”

Thomas didn’t even turn around when he heard Teresa’s voice, and continued packing messily into the suitcase. The anger was filling him with energy and zero care for the rest, so it probably looked like wanted to punish his clothes more than pack them with him.

“Leaving,” he hissed angrily. “Just had an awesome chat with Ava and that settled it.”

“Oh no,” Teresa groaned and entered his field of vision, her face unhappy. “She was angry, you know how she can get when things are not done her way.”

“Yes, exactly,” he glared at her, even though he didn’t mean to take it out on her at all. His mind was so mad he couldn’t help it though.

“Tom, I get you’re angry now as well, but reconsider,” she didn’t seem to take it personally, thankfully, and stood next to his suitcase with grim expression. “You will regret leaving like this.”

“No I won’t,” he growled. “You know what she told me? That I’m clueless and useless in a normal life and Newt is going to get rid of me soon.”

“Tom-,”

“But wait! Miracles happen – if I married you, I’d be a perfect example of a husband!” he didn’t let her speak and angrily closed the lid of the suitcase, so it bounced several times before remaining closed. “She would support me – all of them would support me! But god forbids me doing my own decision, then it’s wrong and I’m only a stubborn idiot making my life miserable!”

She didn’t say anything, but her expression grew sad.

“Sorry,” he stopped in the middle of the room, the steam slowly running out. “I didn’t mean to take it out on you.”

“I understand,” she responded simply. “Where are you going to go?”

“I dunno,” he shrugged, glancing towards the door. “I will think of something along the way. I just need some time out of here.”

“What does Newt say about it?” she asked and Thomas sighed.

“Well, he was at the shitstorm with Ava, so he’s pissed as well,” he remembered how nasty she had been towards him and it made most of the anger to come back. “I don’t want to keep him here at these circumstances either, he doesn’t deserve it.”

“Well, you can’t say you expected her to take it easily,” Teresa pointed out and Thomas had to agree. He didn’t expect Ava to be happy about it, or immediately celebrate, but he didn’t think – or maybe didn’t _hope_ was the better word – she would be so damn vicious right from the start.

“No, I can’t,” he mumbled. “But that’s not really the point. She just made me realize I need to get out of here for a while.”

She didn’t look happy about it, but didn’t stop him either and Thomas was grateful for it. He left with Newt ten minutes later with almost nobody noticing.

***

“There is a flight to New York that leaves in four hours. There are still spots left.”

“New York?” Thomas raised an eyebrow at the blond sitting next to him in a taxi and Newt scrolled lower on the website.

“Duh,” he voiced out as if it was super obvious. “My place of course.”

“But…”

Newt put down the phone and gave Thomas a small smile.

“Look, if you have plans, then it’s fine,” he assured him. “But if this was spontaneous and you have no place to go, then what I told her in the office still stands.”

“What, that you love me and married me because when you want something you should put a ring on it?” Thomas couldn’t help himself and smirked at it, and Newt chuckled and mockingly tapped on Thomas’ ring.

“I did, didn’t I?”

“Of course,” Thomas nodded while looking at the ring as well, and it was funny, really, how fast in terms he came with it. Of course, the marriage was only for show and it didn’t change anything about their lives, but the first moment Thomas knew he was marrying a guy there had been a certain panic, and that already disappeared completely. Hell, he didn’t even mind the fact Newt had been basically pressing their sides together now, keeping the contact, if felt natural.

“I do have a place in New York though,” Newt returned to the previous conversation easily. “And it is spacy and pretty much available. I do have a job at the clinic and don’t care about expanses.”

“I’m not going to let you pay for my shit though,” Thomas immediately stopped him and Newt blinked in surprise. “I’m not that kind of guy.”

“Except you’re my husband?” Newt pointed out with a shrug. “Which means you’re my responsibility.”

“Newt, I swear-,”

“You watched Pretty Woman?” the blond interrupted him suddenly like it just occurred to him and Thomas shut up. “I thought so.”

He still refused to let Newt pay for anything though and tried to ignore the fact the taxi driver was watching them with rather suspicious stare in the rear mirror the whole way.

***

Several long, tiresome hours later Thomas found himself in a spacious flat that smelled like curry, and with Newt who groaned right in between the doors and then bolted in to open all possible windows around (and there was lots of them for sure).

“I swear I will kill them one day,” he was grumbling along the way and Thomas slowly walked inside and closed the door behind him. The place was _huge_ and apparently had two floors, and except of the curry flavour it was fantastic, albeit slightly messy (there were clothes about everywhere, the floor looked like somebody used it for eating, with crumbs and stains, and almost every possible surface had a piece of dirty dishes).

“Kill who?” he asked while checking the kitchen in the far corner. It was big and L shaped and Teresa would love it to bits because she was an enthusiastic cook and always complained about the cramped kitchen in the house or her own home (the one in Thomas’ house wasn’t small, but had so many things in it, it was almost impossible to cook something without bumping into shitload of stuff). The sink was overflowing with plates and mugs, and when Newt got there, the eye roll he gave to it would probably win an eye rolling contest if there was any.

“When I’m gone, I let friends come over,” he explained with gritted teeth. “No matter what I tell them, they always leave a bloody mess though. I’m kinda scared to go look in what kind of state the rooms are…”

“You let people over when you’re gone?” Thomas blinked in surprise. “Isn’t that a little… irresponsible?”

“Would be if I didn’t know them,” Newt waved his hand above the sink and opened the dish washer. It was surprisingly empty. “But they are my mates, so I trust them not to set it on fire. The dirt, on the other hand…”

“I see,” Thomas glanced around and had to admit they did leave a terrible mess for sure. Like a heavy partying was in order for _days_.

“Tough luck from now on though,” Newt added and started putting dirty dishes into the machine. “Since you’re here.”

“No no, don’t let me spoil their fun,” Thomas quickly refused, but Newt only smirked and once he was done with loading the dish washer, he closed it and pushed a button.

“Look, Bambi,” he leaned against the counter. “This is your home now. I doubt you’d let anyone to your own home if you were there, would you?”

“You do realize this is absolutely embarrassing for me, right?” Thomas rubbed his eyes tiredly and Newt barked out a laugh. It was a pleasant sound, his laughter, and Thomas realized he didn’t hear it very often from him yet, not like this.

“Why is that?”

It was more like he teased him, Thomas thought, because seriously – it wasn’t normal to be so goddamn generous towards a person you met like… two days ago, right? Screw the marriage status, they were practically still strangers, why was Newt so trustful?

Not to mention being treated like Newt had been a sugar daddy – as much as _wrong_ it sounded – was simply mortifying. It was like Thomas was using his kindness because he was unable to take care of himself, and he wasn’t sure how to deal with that.

“I just…”

“I don’t consider you a child or incompetent, mind you,” Newt assured him softly. “Actually I don’t really have any label for you. I’m just glad you managed to get out of the house, and since I apparently sped it up, I just feel obligated to offer you a place to stay.”

“To a complete stranger,” Thomas pointed out and Newt shrugged.

“Well, we are married.”

“Our marriage is really not the best example of not being strangers though,” Thomas opposed with a sigh. “I mean, we know each other for two days.”

“Three, technically,” Newt piped, but when Thomas groaned, he raised his hands in an apology and gestured for him to continue.

“The point still stands,” Thomas insisted. “I don’t even know how old are you. What do you do for a living, except that you work in a clinic. What’s… your favourite colour or something, you get me?”

“Twenty seven, physical therapist and red,” Newt shot out. “If that helps ya.”

Thomas stared at him mutely for a moment, slowly connecting the answers to his questions, and then buried his face to his hands.

“Really,” he whined. “Is _everything_ with you this easy?”

“Told you,” Newt grinned in amusement. “It depends, but I try.”

“Are you not even remotely afraid I’m a bad egg?”

“Not at all,” the blond answered without hesitation. “I have a good assessment about people, usually. The baggage, the trauma, the moods.”

“You were wrong about Teresa though,” Thomas pointed out stubbornly.

“Well… yeah, but she really did act like a jealous house wife, for my defence,” Newt admitted and left the kitchen corner so he could start collecting dirty laundry that was lying around the whole living room. “She wasn’t even slightly upset about it?”

“She was,” Thomas grudgingly agreed and Newt sent him a victorious smirk. “But not because she’s in love with me.”

“Alright, half win for you, half win for me,” the blond concluded. “The point still stands. You’re a nice person. I like your attitude, even though the first night it was rather unbalanced, but you made up for it. I saw you and I thought _damn, that guy needs help!_ ”

“Really,” Thomas rolled his eyes and his husband stopped next to the spacious sofa and seemed thoughtful, then shrugged.

“Well, you looked so gloomy I felt bad for refusing,” he resumed the clean-up. “And I admit I was also curious what exactly could push you so far into marrying a completely unknown person just to escape what the family cooked up.”

“And what’s the conclusion?” Thomas asked while crossing his arms on his chest and watched Newt carrying the pile he collected out of the room, so he followed him, apparently to the bathroom.

“For one, I met your aunt and that would be a reason enough,” he heard him saying and entered another place that appeared to be an oversized bathroom with a huge tub. The washing machine was further along and Newt stuffed the clothes in it and then waved his hand like it smelled terribly. Thomas kind of believed it did. “For two, I think you just wanted to be independent from them but didn’t know _how_ to do it, and maybe you didn’t even know you actually wanted it until it presented itself. And I support that decision.”

“You do?” Thomas tilted his head to the side in wonder and Newt smiled at him.

“Independence is a good thing, especially when the opposite means being bound without the power to voice your own opinions,” he said leisurely. “If you burn and fail, fine, it was a lesson and you learn from it. But if you succeed, it’s liberating.”

“Say, Newt,” Thomas leaned against the bathroom door and the blond hummed in question. “How come you are single?”

“My husband wouldn’t really fancy if I weren’t,” Newt chuckled. “Would kinda defeat the purpose.”

“I mean it,” Thomas refused to let him lead the conversation astray again. “You’re so nice. You care about _everything._ I don’t understand.”

“Maybe that’s exactly the problem,” the blond shrugged. “Maybe I care about too many things.”

Thomas shook his head and looked around. The bathroom was mostly tidy and Newt looked a little lost in it, a thin, tall somebody who lived alone in a big flat, who let his friends come over and do whatever they wanted in a place without him scolding them for making a mess, who wanted to help people he didn’t know well, and who deserved a big fucking hug because was there anything else that would make a person like him happy?

_I actually do want to make him happy._

“That’s not a problem at all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetad!
> 
> Give Newt all the hugs!


	9. Toasts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “This?”  
> “Breakfast,” Thomas shrugged while sipping his drink like it was no big deal.   
> “Yours?” Newt inquired again, probably because Thomas always pushed the plate to Newt’s side.  
> “Nope,” he responded easily. “Yours.”  
> “I don’t really eat in the morning,” the blond seemed apologetic while still staring at the colourful addition to the otherwise empty table, and Thomas had to smile.

The bedroom section was on the second floor, divided into four standalone rooms. There was Newt’s bedroom at the end of the hallway, and then three guest rooms that Newt had to clean before letting Thomas to use one of them, because his friends apparently occupied every single one. All of them were about the same size as the one Thomas had at the house, although pretty simply furnished. There was a nice, comfy bed where two people probably could sleep without too much trouble, and three when you didn’t mind it cramped, two airy windows from which you saw the city under you like on a palm, and light-blue coloured walls that surprisingly didn’t feel cold at all. It had a nice, soft carpet with fluffy patches like it was growing out of the floor, and one wardrobe for each room, along with night table.

“It’s a little poor in here,” Newt told him when he was showing him the place. “We will do something about it, when you come up with what you want there.”

“I like it this way,” Thomas protested meekly, but Newt only smirked and started cleaning the crumbs from the carpet and changing sheets. Thomas helped because he didn’t know what to do with himself in this place and the feeling of being a little lost grew in him uncomfortably no matter what he did. It was almost as if Newt sensed it on him, because he started talking about a small bakery that was across the street and made _insanely good pudding pouches_ and a bistro one block further that gave you a discount when you came in and greeted them with a smile, and that was open until 4 AM. He described several escapades he experienced there, when there had been a new waitress and tripped on her feet, sending the food flying on a customer, or when he came there with his friends with a terrible hangover, but because they were a happy bunch and greeted them cheerfully despite the terrible headache, they got coffee for free and really cheap breakfast.

“I met the owner that day,” Newt said with a smile, fluffing the pillow with new bedsheets. “We became friends. When he’s there at the same time as me, he always makes me his favourite cocktail. It knocks you out of your socks.”

Thomas laughed at the sole image of it and when Newt was done with the room and went to another, he followed him to help some more.

Newt told him about the neighbourhood and other people living in the building, at least the ones he knew personally. Usually it consisted of nice people, but he warned him about two flats that hosted rather pissy elderly couples which were not good to cross their paths with. Thomas found himself smiling like an idiot when listening to him because it was like in a weird movie about being abducted by a naïve alien who just wanted to make his victim to feel nice.

Because that was how Newt appeared to him – for his age and an apparent experience he was so easy going and helpful it was almost unreal. Since really – who wouldn’t get mad when his friends would leave such a terrible mess after themselves without any attempt to a remedy that? Newt groaned a bit and rolled his eyes, but didn’t say a single bit about being angry about it.

Thomas wondered if he was lonely. The flat was huge and he apparently lived alone, and apart from spending time with his _mates_ he seemingly didn’t have any significant other to share his life with. Not that it was mandatory, mind you, but Thomas felt like his presence was considered pleasant thanks to that, even despite the fact they didn’t know each other at all. The _Pretty Woman_ reference rang in his mind and he had to smirk at it, because no way he’d be able to pull such a long legs Vivian had.

In overall was good, it really was, just… strange, maybe.

The first _official_ week passed in a blink of an eye and Thomas slowly got used to the schedule Newt lived through. The blond woke up roughly at 7 and didn’t eat breakfast, ever. He only drank coffee or tea while getting dressed, checked his mails and watched a bit of morning news. Then he left the flat and came back at between 5 and 8 in the evening, usually with something he bought along the way, or ingredients for cooking. Sometimes he made something to eat fast, sat with Thomas in the living room and ate it while curling on the couch with his bare feet tucked under him. Sometimes he just got home and crashed on the sofa and slept for an hour, before waking up a little disoriented and tired. At that point Thomas always wondered how difficult his job had to be for him to be so exhausted.

During that first week Thomas also realized he made a good decision. Ava didn’t call him even once, but Teresa did almost every day, asking how he had been and what was new at home when she visited there. They usually chatted for a while, Thomas described the flat Newt lived in to her and New York rushed living pace, and she _always_ asked how Newt was treating him like a mother hen.  

“He’s a prince Charming,” Thomas always answered, because there was literally _nothing_ he could say against Newt’s personality. It was like the blond simply accepted the fact he had a roommate without any problem and carried on with his own lifestyle.

Thomas spent that time acclimatizing to about everything – to the flat, to Newt, to the city, while wondering if he should resume the college once the holiday was over. There was this nagging feeling of being a nuisance to the man that kept on bugging him and the fact he could drop out of school for a while and work was more and more appealing, especially when Newt was doing exactly that every business day while Thomas lazed around.

He usually slept late, until nine or so, when he was at home. Here, in Newt’s place, it took him three days before he suddenly started taking notice of the noises coming from downstairs when Newt got up, and on fourth day he abandoned sleep after 7th hour completely and joined Newt in the kitchen only few minutes after Newt alone woke up.

It was probably slightly awkward, Thomas thought at that day, because suddenly he wasn’t sure what to say or how to act when Newt kept on moving around the place while getting slowly dressed. It didn’t look like the blond minded him there, he only pointed at the coffee maker and Thomas took a cup and curled on the couch while watching the TV and Newt walking around (usually half-dressed and Thomas always fidgeted and tried not to stare).

He thought it was a one-time only, since Thomas really did value his sleep, but the next day he had been up again and even earlier than Newt’s alarm went off, and he lay in his bed a little dumbfounded. But since that point he did it every day, and when he was up first, he made coffee and once Newt appeared in the kitchen while yawning and scratching his belly under the Iron Maiden shirt, he handed him the cup with _good morning_ and it somehow made the waking up better. Newt always smiled at him, his hair in disarray and eyes sleepy, and Thomas started to wonder how exactly he could make himself useful to this guy, and that thought stuck to him like glue.

***

Around the end of the second week Thomas attempted to teach Newt to eat breakfast. It actually occurred to him one morning when he padded down to the quiet kitchen and started brewing coffee, that he didn’t know _when_ Newt had his first meal, when he didn’t eat here. Was there a cafeteria at the clinic? Or was he eating too late?

He always remembered his family pestering all the kids about having a satisfying breakfast before going off and it kind of stuck with him, so the more he thought of this thin guy not eating at all, the less he liked it, until he started an experiment.

He made toasts.

When Newt appeared in the kitchen all sleepy, he greeted him as always, gave him coffee and led him to the table where Newt sat down sleepily. There were toasts prepared already, but Thomas didn’t point them out or anything, he just left them there and let Newt slowly regain consciousness and apprehension.

The first day – no change. Newt finished coffee but didn’t even touch the food.

The second day Thomas noticed a change – the blond stared at the food for a while like it was something he never saw before and when Thomas sat at the opposite side of the table with his own mug, Newt pointed at the plate.

“This?”

“Breakfast,” Thomas shrugged while sipping his drink like it was no big deal.

“Yours?” Newt inquired again, probably because Thomas always pushed the plate to Newt’s side.

“Nope,” he responded easily. “Yours.”

“I don’t really eat in the morning,” the blond seemed apologetic while still staring at the colourful addition to the otherwise empty table, and Thomas had to smile.

“I know, but it’s just in case you actually got munchies,” he commented and Newt finally looked at him with dumbfounded expression. “What? Breakfast is important, you know.”

“Ah,” Newt let out, sipped his coffee some more and focused back at the food. Thomas had no idea what could have been Newt’s favourite, so he put on about all he found at home – honey, jam, ham and cheese, and even eggs on the big plate.

“It’s not poisoned, I swear,” Thomas propped his elbows against the desk and grinned at Newt’s wondering expression. “And it’s not mandatory either.”

“You eat in the morning?” Newt asked suddenly and put his cup away. He was half dressed, his shirt was missing and Thomas stopped finding it awkward after the fifth day. It always seemed Newt had troubles to wake up immediately to full attention; it actually appeared it had phases. The coffee was the main kickstarter, that for sure, but the full realisation he should be dressing properly in one go just kind of didn’t work. Sometimes Thomas wondered how he did it the first day in the hotel room in Las Vegas, since he was full of energy right from the start. Maybe it was still the alcohol? Or he barely slept.

“Sure I do, I’d wake up the whole neighbourhood with my stomach otherwise,” Thomas chuckled. “Not to mention I feel sick when I don’t eat, and more tired.”

“That sounds troublesome,” Newt nodded in agreement, but actually reached for a toast with ham and cheese and Thomas counted it as a win, even though he took only about three bites before leaving for work.

The next day he ate the whole one toast though.

***

“Should I buy something after work?” came from the hallway in a question and Thomas walked towards the voice with a yawn. He had trouble sleeping this night and he woke up much later than usual, so Newt was already almost on his way out and Thomas managed only to quickly make him a sandwich which he promptly gave to him now. Newt smirked at it, but took it nevertheless (Thomas kind of waited for him to say to stop with it if he didn’t really fancied eating in the morning, but Newt never did).

“No need,” Thomas mumbled sleepily and leaned against the door frame while watching Newt taking his shoes on. He could barely keep his eyes open how sleepy he still had been. “I’ll go shopping once my brain reboots.”

“You sure?” the blond gave him a look and Thomas nodded with another yawn. “Call me if anything though.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“I should be home at eight today,” Newt informed him softly and when Thomas opened his mouth to confirm he heard him, Newt leaned in and pecked him on the cheek, then turned around, said _later_ and left.

Thomas remained standing at the door for another several seconds, then shrugged and went back to bed. It occurred to him an hour later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetad!
> 
> Bit of an aclimatizing chapter.


	10. Small Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Rewarding like in cash or rewarding like in a feeling?” Thomas tilted his head to the side and Newt grinned.  
> “Both, actually,” he said lightly. “Of course, there are days like this that make you a little tired, but then I think of how much good I can do for all the people, it just splashes the negativity away.”  
> “You’re one of the kind, you know that?” Thomas smiled and Newt shook his head with a small laugh.

Newt didn’t say anything about it and Thomas didn’t know how to breach the topic either. The blond man arrived home at half past nine and looked tired, so even if Thomas knew what to ask him – or how – he probably wouldn’t even try. He only let Newt settle down in the living room with a heavy sigh and then gave him dinner because he didn’t know how else he could make things better.

“Wow, thanks,” Newt blinked at the food like he didn’t expect something like that happen – and Thomas mused he probably really didn’t, if he was used to living alone. Not that Thomas did it for anybody before, but it was something he learned in the Paige’s household – the proper eating regime. The breakfast, lunch and dinner with occasional snacks were a base of a successful day and under the surprise Newt fell into he saw some sort of gratefulness as well. He considered Ava’s strict rules rubbish for most of the time, like in a prison, but the longer he lived with Newt, the more he used from what he learned and it _worked_.

“Tough day?” he sat next to him on the sofa and Newt hummed quietly while munching on his dinner. He looked a little droopy and Thomas wondered how to make him feel better without pushing it needlessly. “Wanna talk about it?”

“Eh, it’s not exactly a cheery topic,” Newt mumbled and put the food down with a sigh. He didn’t eat much of it – probably the same amount he always ate from breakfast. “Don’t really wanna bother you with it.”

“You’re not bothering me with it,” Thomas assured him with an encouraging smile. “Not to mention what kind of husband would I be if I didn’t listen to you?”

Newt barked out a laugh and slightly nodded.

“What an interesting point you make,” he stretched and then leaned back on the sofa. “The thing is… the physical therapy looks like it’s just exercising, but it’s so much harder sometimes.”

“Like today?”

“Yeah, like today,” the blond mumbled. “There is this man… he was in a car accident. Both his legs were pretty much shattered, plus part of his pelvis. They put him together, but walking is difficult, so he has to get used to it first.”

“I see,” Thomas nodded quietly. It must have been a terrible strain for mind when you didn’t know if you’re going to be able to walk again or not. He was pretty sure he would be depressed over it as well, if not worse.

“It’s do-able, of course, but…” Newt took a deep breath and shook his head. “His mind is probably the worst problem out of all. At the accident his wife and kid died. And he blames himself, since he was driving. Fell into a microsleep. And crashed.”

“Oh,” well, that changed everything. Suddenly Newt’s psychology degree made sense – if he had to deal with people after crashes that lost so much like this one, _hell_ , it had to be tough as fuck.

“He kinda refuses to walk, even though he’s able to do so,” Newt added and the tired expression was back, along with a worried crease between his brows. “Only time helps in these cases, but mate, it’s so bloody difficult to just wait and watch him suffer like that.”

Thomas couldn’t even imagine how it must have been for either of the sides. Loss wasn’t a foreign term to him, not after losing his mother, but he was a kid at that point and he didn’t remember as much from that time. It hurt, yes, and it still did now when he remembered and felt the longing, but it was sort of distant and numb. If it happened now when he was already an adult, it would definitely break him to pieces. Losing a wife and a kid altogether must have been a living purgatory. And watching somebody like that had to be terrible as well, especially when you were entitled to help.

“Yeah, I get that,” he piped. “It sounds like a tough job though. Why did you pick that?”

“Well,” Newt drawled and glanced at Thomas like he wasn’t sure what to say. Then he shrugged. “I like to help people, I guess?”

“Fair enough,” Thomas gave up the digging, because even though he felt like there was more Newt wanted to tell him, there probably wasn’t enough trust yet. And he was not going to pressure him into anything, that for sure.

“I didn’t even ask,” Newt suddenly turned on his side and propped his head against his palm. He looked slightly more relaxed, which was a good sign. “The Witch of the wilds said you’re still in college. So what’s your major?”

“The Witch of the wilds?” Thomas snorted and Newt smirked at him. He loved the nicknames it seemed and Thomas had to admit they usually fitted pretty well. Calling Ava a witch definitely had a certain ring to it though.

“I’m pretty sure she has a broomstick and black cat hidden somewhere,” Newt responded dramatically and Thomas had to laugh. He had moments during puberty when he thought the same, and after what happened in the house with Newt he probably still thought so.

“Probably, yeah,” he agreed in amusement and them made a vague hand gesture. “I’m in Architectural studies.”

“Wow,” Newt seemed genuinely impressed, his eyes wide. “That’s so cool! Is it tough?”

“Eh,” Thomas shrugged. “It’s mostly like math and geometry. Boring stuff.”

“I think it’s pretty awesome,” Newt opposed and Thomas realized he was resting his hand on Thomas’ knee without him noticing. Or was he so used to it already? He didn’t mind at all, it actually felt like a soothing gesture. “What brought you to study that?”

“I guess I found it _cool_ before as well,” Thomas chuckled and hesitantly reached for Newt’s hand, brushing against the ring. “The study itself is a drag though.”

“Most of them are,” Newt nodded in agreement. The touch remained. “My studies were bloody boring as well. But then the work itself is rewarding.”

“Rewarding like in cash or rewarding like in a feeling?” Thomas tilted his head to the side and Newt grinned.

“Both, actually,” he said lightly. “Of course, there are days like this that make you a little tired, but then I think of how much good I can do for all the people, it just splashes the negativity away.”

“You’re one of the kind, you know that?” Thomas smiled and Newt shook his head with a small laugh.

It was nice, like this, Thomas mused. Pleasant, like they sort of fitted with each other. Maybe it was mainly because Newt was so easy-going and unselfish that living with him posed no hardship whatsoever, and Thomas realized that making him smile by small things like dinner or breakfast or a small talk after work was making even him happy.

He just wondered if it was enough.

***

It was Saturday and Thomas was woken up by loud noises coming from downstairs, like somebody barged in with a herd of horses while shouting about it happily. He blinked blearily against the ceiling and sat up, rubbing his eyes before the reality crashed into him again, making him realize where he was, what day it had been and that the noises weren’t by any means a normal occurrence.

He listened for a moment, trying to find out what was going on, but it was too far from him to understand the words or recognize the voices, so he dug himself from under the covers, found sweatpants and left his room with a yawn.

“Would you keep it down?!”

Newt’s voice. There were several people laughing and dishes clinging, and Newt sounded rather exasperated, which Thomas really didn’t like. The clock on the wall showed a little past 7 in the morning and that was even worse, especially during the weekend. Newt had been so tired yesterday that he should have slept at least until 10 to make up for it, not getting up like he always did.

When he reached the kitchen, he immediately realized why it was so noisy, especially when he was greeted with: _there is the hubby!_

“Ugh, great, you woke him up, you bunch of zombies,” Newt frowned at his friends Thomas briefly knew from Las Vegas (he recognized Minho only, especially since it was him who greeted him so happily now) and quickly approached Thomas with an apologetic expression. “Sorry, they barged in without me knowing, I’ve wanted to get them out without waking you up…”

“It’s fine,” Thomas assured him and before he could say anything else, Newt pecked him on the cheek like he did yesterday and squeezed his hand, making him rather speechless.

“I’ll make you breakfast,” he said as if he was making up for the noise, but Thomas could barely hear him under the _ooohhh_ ing the group did. “Don’t mind them, they’re super immature.”

“Come sit with us, hubby!” Minho immediately gestured to them, sitting around the dining table, looking like they were partying the whole night and didn’t sleep at all. There were two girls and three guys and they seemed familiar.

“He’s not going to sit with you, _you_ are leaving,” Newt uttered dryly, pointing at the door, but the group only _awwwed_ in disappointment and didn’t move an inch. They apparently raided Newt’s fridge since Thomas could see them eating the rest of dinner from yesterday and other things they found in there and he wondered if it was normal for them to do this. Was Newt okay with that as well? He looked rather unhappy now, standing at the coffeemaker with a frown, and Thomas decided to go for him than risking sitting with the group alone, which earned him another salve of noises from them.

Some kissing ones were among them as well.

“You okay?” he nudged the blond gently from the side with his hip and Newt’s face immediately cleared when he looked back at him.

“Yeah, sorry,” he assured him, although Thomas didn’t really believe him. “Just tired. Makes me cranky. And pissy, since even though they knew you’re here, they still barged in like this and woke you up. Going to get the key from them.”

“They have a key from this place?” Thomas raised an eyebrow at it and Newt hummed, although it sounded apologetic.

“I didn’t mind them doing this normally, but there are borders,” his voice lowered into a whisper. “It may take them a while to understand.”

“I told you it’s fine,” Thomas smiled and realized his hand was resting on Newt’s lower back without his knowledge of how the hell it got there. He quickly removed it and walked towards the cupboard to hide his embarrassment, masking it with a search for mugs.

What the hell was wrong with him? There was no need to pretend they were together because they loved each other – Newt’s friends were aware of the real purpose. Yet his body kept on doing this and Thomas didn’t even notice, it was like an automatic reaction – but from where it came from? Just because Newt was nice to him surely didn’t mean he needed to do these advances like a dog seeking attention.

But then again – not even Newt needed to do the cheek kissing, not when they were alone, not when friends were over, and yet he did. For some reason Thomas didn’t find it as strange though, even though he probably should have, since the _practice_ for getting used to his presence was over too now, wasn’t it? He doubted Ava would ever come to visit them just to check if it was still true.

“So how’s the married life threating you, Newtie?” Minho’s voice interrupted him from his thoughts and he glanced at Newt in curiosity. He alone was satisfied with their co-habitation, because there were no pressing matters Newt had wanted, or annoying habits Thomas would hate, so for him it was flawless. But for Newt? He had no idea how bad or good companion he was for the guy.

“If you come here at reasonable hour and day, then I’d gladly tell you,” Newt shot back and really didn’t sound amused. “But it’s bloody 7 AM on Saturday and I feel like strangling you is not enough of punishment for waking us up.”

_Us._

“We were in the neighbourhood,” now a female voice spoken and Thomas remembered the blond doll-like girl from Las Vegas almost as clearly as he did with Minho. She had short dress and really high heels and looked super adorable, like a little princess. “Thought we would stop by. Didn’t look at the time, sorry.”

Newt pinched the bridge of his nose, but didn’t say anything else. Thomas handed him the empty cup and he filled it with coffee, and then walked away from the table with a little grumble.

“Did we wake you before morning sex?” another one of them asked, the big guy, Thomas vaguely recognized him. He was probably the tallest of them all and reminded him of a rugby player. “Pretty sure if he got some he wouldn’t be so pissy.”

“Just few more hours of sleep would have done the trick,” Thomas opposed with a deep breath. What the hell should he had said about them having sex? They weren’t even sleeping in the same bed, for fuck’s sake.

“Huh, since when he sleeps for so long?” another girl from the group said, with dark dreadlocks and big, brown eyes and plum lips. She had a dress as well, although a little longer than the blonde, and converse shoes, which gave her even more of a rebel look.

“Since his husband tires him too much at night, Harriet,” Minho snickered and then hissed when the big guy took a piece of food from his plate. “Oi, Gally, you do that again and I’ll bite your fingers off. Eat Sonja’s food.”

 _Oh, so this is Gally. Now I get that_ heavy _reference._

“Touchy feely,” Gally retorted back but stopped with his plate and reached for the blonde’s. She didn’t say a word against it.

 _Sonja then_.

He glanced at the only quiet man at the table, nibbling at his food, and realized he was probably the only one he didn’t recognize at all. He had dark skin and black hair, and had a similar build to Gally, with wide shoulders and muscular arms, and looked like he didn’t care at all what was going on around him.

“That’s Alby,” Minho’s voice suddenly flooded his hearing and he almost jumped out of his skin when he realized the man was standing next to him with a smirk, apparently happy he managed to spook him. “He’s probably not entirely happy to be here, but otherwise he’s a nice guy.”

“Okay?” Thomas let out in confusion why Minho dropped his voice so low, like the guy being nice was some kind of secret. It looked like the rest of the group didn’t even noticed Minho was missing from their circle and Thomas mused it was Minho’s main focus.

“Also Newt’s ex,” the next bomb made him choke a little though. “Just sayin.”

It was weird, Thomas thought. There was nothing to be upset about – so why was he now so damn piqued about it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetad!
> 
> Sigh. I gotta stop making Alby Newt's ex :D But it's just... always my first choice x.x  
> Anyway! The thing with Thomas' major - I thought architecture because of the Maze designing... just a thought :D


	11. No Obstacles Policy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Your face is so full of questions,” Newt chuckled and flicked his forehead. “Didn’t think it would bother you so much.”  
> “It doesn’t bother me,” Thomas grumbled while rubbing the spot Newt touched. “I just…”  
> “You just?”  
> “Well, fine, maybe it did bother me a little,” Thomas uttered grudgingly. “But I wouldn’t pry into it.”

It was stupid, but Thomas couldn’t stop watching _Alby_ until the group left, and he wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t like he would be able to stop him from approaching Newt – it wasn’t like he even _should_ stop him from doing anything. Why would he? Not to mention this was Newt’s place, Newt’s friends and Newt’s ex for him to deal with, and none of it should make Thomas so worked up. He wasn’t a damn dog to defend his so-called-territory, when this wasn’t his home at all, no matter he lived here now, as well as Newt wasn’t his real husband, no matter they were wed and had rings as a proof.

None of it should make him feel this angry.

Wait, no, not really angry, just…

_Jealous. Fuck._

He rolled his eyes and scrubbed the mug from coffee he drank clean with maybe a bit too much force.

Jealous. Really? Why the hell was he? He knew this guy for like… what, three weeks? He didn’t even _think_ of this before Minho conveniently pointed out that his goddamn ex just waltzed here, acted super disinterested and cool and made Thomas so damn pissed by it. Was that a reason why Newt was so grumpy? Because he never had been before, not that literal sunshine, and suddenly he just sat in the living room alone while watching TV like the rest of the people didn’t even exist – so was Alby the cause? Minho said Alby wasn’t very happy to be there, so why the hell he even came? So he could brood while making Newt’s life miserable?

How did they even break up? And why? He wasn’t with them in Las Vegas, so maybe it was before? Or was it an old thing already and Minho was just pulling his leg? Was it even real? Not that he didn’t believe the guy, but sometimes he struck him more like a jester than a helper.

Should he have asked Newt about it? But _man_ , how do you ask about somebody’s ex without being super nosy and prying into matters that shouldn’t interest you? Or on top of all – you shouldn’t basically even know about?

He sighed and propped against the sink with a frown. This was getting him nowhere and only made him more agitated. He turned off the water and glanced towards the couch where Newt was, finding him sleeping there curled up in a ball, with bare feet and legs. He looked small like that, almost childlike, and Thomas found himself staring like a creep and quickly shook his head.

_I should get him a blanket._

He quietly padded up the stairs and hesitated to which room he should go for it. If he took Newt’s blanket, would it be a faux pas? Entering his bedroom without his knowledge seemed rather rude. Giving him his own would be probably even weirder though, so _no_. There were spare ones though, right?

He walked towards one of the guest rooms and stopped. Oh yeah, there were spare ones, but they didn’t put new sheets on and Thomas had quite frankly _no idea_ where it could be. He shook his head, glanced at Newt’s bedroom door and took a deep breath. He was a grown man, he could deal with it.

He still entered the room with caution. It was dark, the blinds were closed and the bed ruffled since Newt got up in a hurry. It was probably the same size as any other guest room, but the walls were red and furniture dark, so it looked much more refined and classy. He had to admit he liked the look of it – even the bed was bigger and somehow stylish. There were several paintings on the wall, kind of abstract and black and white, and photos on the night table he rather didn’t check. He quickly grabbed the blanket and left the room in hurry, hoping he just didn’t breach the fragile border of trust they shared, and returned back to the living room.

Newt was still asleep, his breathing quiet and evened, and Thomas tiptoed towards him with the blanket like a thief, covering him slowly. Newt fidgeted slightly and made a soft noise, but then he dug himself deeper under the covers and Thomas counted it as a win.

***

“How long was I out?”

Thomas glanced back inside of the flat just to see Newt slowly approaching, looking seriously dishevelled and sleepy. Since he wasn’t sure what to do so he wouldn’t wake Newt up, he went shopping for the lost food after the raiding, and then decided to sit outside at the balcony and read one of the books he found on the shelf in the living room.

“Few hours,” he shrugged and Newt slowly walked up to him and put his hands on his shoulders, squeezing him gently. “Slept good?”

“Mhm,” the blond hummed. “Thanks for the blanket.”

“No worries,” Thomas responded and hoped no remark about Newt’s bedroom would land. “You slept like a baby.”

“I didn’t even notice when they left,” Newt mumbled sleepily. “Wanted to get that key.”

“They left just a bit after you fell asleep I guess,” he wasn’t sure when it was either, but since Newt didn’t notice, it must have been already after he lost consciousness.

“I dunno how to get it into their dull skulls that this place is off limits to them,” Newt sighed and his hands slid down to the middle of Thomas’ chest how the blond leaned over him and basically rested on his back. He was warm and not heavy at all and Thomas felt his heart pumping faster.

“If it’s just cuz of me, then it’s really not needed to ruin what you’re used to,” he tried, although the thought of that Alby guy coming here again was making his blood boil. He heard Newt chuckle into his ear and he had to force himself to calm down. Was Newt doing this on purpose? Because that was so not fair!

“As much as I do adore them, I don’t fancy having my flat raided like this whenever they want to,” a relieving notion came. “And whatever they like it or not, _you_ are here as well now and that means you have a say in this as well.”

“I told you I don’t mind,” Thomas protested stupidly and Newt started picking on his shirt like he didn’t know what to do with his hands. He had long, slim fingers and Thomas could easily recall how it felt intertwining them with his own – which was a strange thought all of sudden.

“You don’t, really?” it sounded doubting, because of course he _did._ They woke them up – Newt especially after he really needed some nice, calming sleep, and basically ate everything like they owned the place, and as much as he understood the importance of friends, this was still rude in his book. But he couldn’t complain about anything, this place was Newt’s, no matter what the blond told him.

“Well,” he took a deep breath and Newt suddenly let go. Thomas wanted to protest, but stopped himself in time with a cringe. What was wrong with him, seriously?

“I take it as a yes,” Newt concluded it simply and circled Thomas’ seat, just to stop at the balcony’s railing, leaning against it while facing Thomas with a slight smirk. “You really don’t need to overthink this stuff around me. I told you to consider this home, if you can.”

Was it like this with Alby as well? Was Newt this nice to him? Were they living here together?

“Hey,” Newt dropped into a crouched position in front of him, touching his knees gently. “What’s on your mind? You seem distraught.”

“Oh, sorry,” Thomas blinked, trying to mask the uneasiness, and Newt tilted his head to the side. “It’s nothing.”

He didn’t look convinced. At all.

“Except I can tell there is,” Newt stared at him expectantly. “Did Minho say something?”

_Bullseye._

“Why Minho?” Thomas opposed, because, well, Minho _did_ say something, but it wasn’t about him at all.

“Because Minho always says something he shouldn’t,” Newt responded with a slight frown and watched Thomas some more, until suddenly a realization passed on his face. “Is it about Alby?”

“How did you-,” Thomas’ breath hitched and he quickly shut up. Was he a damn mind reader? That was so weird!

Newt groaned and abruptly stood back up, making Thomas feel at loss again.

“Look, it’s nothing, really,” he quickly stood up as well, trying to remedy that, although he wasn’t even sure how or why. “I was just wondering who it was, since I didn’t see him before in Vegas, and Minho just said it and it kinda stuck in my mind for some reason, but it’s nothing I need an elaboration for or anything.”

“That he’s my ex, that’s what he said I assume?” Newt crossed his arms on his chest and Thomas was close to whining. He didn’t mean to make him upset or anything, and he definitely didn’t want to ask either if he could help it.

“Well, yeah, but…” he tried, but no proper words came. Newt huffed and shook his head.

“The thing about Minho is,” Newt started with a sigh. “That he’s an honest person, and he expects everybody to be the same. He prefers _no obstacles_ policy.”

“That’s not that bad?” Thomas pointed out and the distance between them was so small that if he reached just slightly up, he would be touching Newt already. The inclination was rather surprising.

“Except when he’s doing this stuff for somebody else it can get troublesome,” Newt shrugged. “Plus he’s a drama queen.”

“Is he now?” Thomas only knew Minho had been loud when sober and even louder when drunk, but he still somewhat grew on Thomas like a good guy who is fun to be around.

“We weren’t dating with Alby,” Newt deadpanned. “So that doesn’t make him my ex, does it.”

“Not really,” Thomas nodded quietly and it was strange, the relief he felt inside. But then again why did Minho…?

“We dabbled a little,” Newt added as if he read his mind. “Guess it looked like we dated, to others. But I chickened out. So we did not. End of story.”

“I see,” Thomas voiced out. _Dabbled_? Like sex friends or something? And why did Newt chicken out if he was interested? Or he wasn’t interested enough?

“Your face is _so_ full of questions,” Newt chuckled and flicked his forehead. “Didn’t think it would bother you so much.”

“It doesn’t bother me,” Thomas grumbled while rubbing the spot Newt touched. “I just…”

“You just?”

“Well, fine, maybe it did bother me a little,” Thomas uttered grudgingly. “But I wouldn’t pry into it.”

“Now you don’t need to,” the blond shrugged. “That’s how Minho’s _no obstacle_ policy works.”

“I still think you’re a mind reader though,” Thomas pointed at him.

“Nah,” Newt smirked and his posture finally relaxed enough for Thomas to be sure he wasn’t angry about it. “I just know Minho. Put one and one together with your troubled expression, it’s not rocket science.”

“Telepath.”

“Shush,” Newt nudged his shoulder and smiled. “Have you eaten already? Because I’m starving.”

“Yeah, but I got you some breakfast,” Thomas glanced back into the room. “Since they ate about everything edible… so I went shopping.”

“Of course they did,” the blond sighed and when Thomas retreated back into the flat, he followed him. “I really need that key.”

Thomas only laughed about it at the kitchen counter, taking out the plate and a mug, when a pair of arms circled his waist and Newt hugged him from behind.

“Thanks, by the way,” he heard the blond saying and his breath hitched. “For being here.”

_No other place I’d rather be at._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetad!
> 
> Thomas and his mature problems :D


	12. Spanish Inquisition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Ah, for a check-up if I haven’t chained you in my basement and ravished you every night,” Newt snorted and Thomas tried not to think about the ravishing part. Hell, he thought the puberty and crazy hormones phase were gone by now, but he felt like a 16 years old idiot again.  
> “Probably,” he mumbled, staring at the phone. “She wants the address.”  
> “Then send it to her,” Newt shrugged like it was no big deal, even though he and Teresa weren’t exactly besties so far. “My torture chamber is hidden, she will neeever find it.”

“Wait, what?”

“Which street?” Teresa repeated her question and Thomas felt cold sweat breaking on his forehead. “Will find it with GPS.”

“Since when _you_ are in New York?” he tried not to whine, and he could almost see Teresa shrugging over the line.

“Well, since today,” she responded simply. He heard passing cars in the distance and a distinct sound of sirens. “Thought stopping by is not such a bad idea, since I haven’t seen you for a month.”

Thomas tried not to panic, but it was difficult. Teresa on her way here. How was he supposed to tell Newt about it? Especially when the blond was watching him with a raised eyebrow and silent question in his brown eyes from the kitchen counter where he cooked something deliciously smelling. He was in a white tank top and tight jeans and Thomas was livid about it the whole day, although he kept the freaking out to himself.

It was coming to him gradually, he thought, since he could exactly pinpoint its progress during this week, and today it sort of crowned it when the first thought Thomas had when Newt appeared in the kitchen in these clothes had been _fuck, that’s nice_. The point was – it wasn’t the first time and Thomas was pretty sure not the last time either, since he thought Newt was actually really attractive. And he was screwed because he didn’t think he would ever had to fight with problems like that, which was difficult enough, and now under Teresa’s scrutiny it would only escalate. And not in the good way.

“I see,” he let out in desperation.

“Send me the address in a text,” she ordered him and before Thomas could say anything else, she hung up and left him gaping at the silent phone in a complete shock.

“Wow, what happened?” Newt immediately asked and his voice was laced with worry. “You paled a lot.”

“Teresa,” Thomas managed to pipe.

“Yes?” Newt tilted his head to the side and Thomas saw him turning off the stove and putting the pan away from the residing heat, so he could leave the kitchen and sit next to him. Which was another thing Thomas could barely handle lately – the closeness, the touches. He became hyperaware of Newt’s presence, almost like when he met him in Vegas, but this time it wasn’t because Newt had been a stranger, but because it was doing _things_ to him.

“She’s in New York,” he tried not to think about it when Newt flopped down the couch next to him and their knees touched. “Wants to visit.”

“Ah, for a check-up if I haven’t chained you in my basement and ravished you every night,” Newt snorted and Thomas tried _not_ to think about the ravishing part. Hell, he thought the puberty and crazy hormones phase were gone by now, but he felt like a 16 years old idiot again.

“Probably,” he mumbled, staring at the phone. “She wants the address.”

“Then send it to her,” Newt shrugged like it was no big deal, even though he and Teresa weren’t exactly besties so far. “My torture chamber is hidden, she will neeever find it.”

“Very funny,” Thomas made a sour face and Newt smiled and patted his leg in a comforting gesture while dictating the address to him. Thomas was almost sure the visit was going to be a disaster.

***

“Calm down, mate. It’s not like it’s Spanish Inquisition, although nobody ever expect it either.”

Thomas stopped in the middle of the room from the pacing and glanced at the blond with nervous smile. He knew it was stupid to feel like this about Teresa from all the people that could have arrived, but he knew she was going to see through him from the first hello and he wasn’t ready for _the talk_ yet. Hell, he wasn’t even sure what exactly was going on with him either – he knew he found Newt _pretty_ and he liked him, but that was all because they were living together and Newt was so damn nice all the time it was almost unreal. It was impossible not to like that guy and Thomas knew he was biased, and that was probably also a reason why he dredged Teresa’s opinion, because she didn’t live here and was going to judge it with her merciless eagle vision.And he didn’t know what to say if she was going to ask him why, because if he answered with _he touches me so nicely_ she would call a psychiatrist.

But the touches were nice. They were calming and familiar and he realized about two days ago he was craving the attention and the contact, and proceeded to be embarrassed about it the whole next day. Not to mention the morning cheek kisses – they became a thing. A regular thing, a visit or not. And on top of that Thomas started to reciprocate like it was completely normal and enjoyed it.

And she was going to see that because he was damn bad at lying.

He paced some more until the doorbell rang and he had to take a deep breath before going to open, which made Newt snort in amusement. Thomas was pretty sure the humour would leave him soon as well with Teresa present.

He opened with the best smile he could muster, but that froze on his lips the moment he realized he wasn’t looking _only_ at Teresa, but also at Brenda and Aris and… _fuck_. Janson.

“S’up,” Brenda greeted him with bored expression and Thomas wanted to cry.

***

Thomas was on board of a mental breakdown and Newt looked like it was all fine. How the hell he got so much inner equilibrium? That guy was unreal! He greeted them, he offered them food and everything, and Thomas was just standing there, petrified, waiting for either of them call him out on this being fake or something worse.

Sure, it was still better than Ava visiting, but Janson was only a tad smaller evil. He resembled an executioner the whole time, looking around critically in his expensive white collar that made him look like a penguin, and called Newt _young man_ , which was an equivalent for _I don’t see you as equal, kid_. Which was funny, since Newt wasn’t a kid anymore, no matter how Thomas looked at it.

Brenda was probably the only person who remained uninterested in proceedings, since she just sat on the couch with her phone and in a shirt saying _an apple a day will keep anyone away, if you throw it hard enough_ and ignored the rest of them. Thomas kind of envied her.

“The view is so cool!” Aris called from the balcony and Teresa joined him there, not even bothering giving Thomas any kind of explanation. She could have at least warned him, for fuck’s sake. This was really like a Spanish Inquisition, it almost hurt the same way.

“This place must be expensive,” Janson was just saying and Thomas decided it was better to support Newt than demand the explanation from his best friend. He quickly stepped closer to the blond and Newt immediately leaned into him while answering something about the rent not being so vicious.

“How long are you staying?” Thomas shot out right away and Janson looked at his watch.

_Maybe they’re leaving in few hours, yay!_

“Tomorrow,” Janson took his hopes away with only one word. “Probably.” Okay, with two then.

“That’s a pretty short trip,” Newt commented like he loved to dig graves for both of them. “You have a place to stay?”

_Newt no. Please no._

“We will find a hotel somewhere,” Janson shrugged and no matter how pleading looks Thomas threw at his husband, he seemed not to notice. Or maybe he had a wicked pleasure out of it, anything was possible.

“Stay here then,” the blond sealed their fates uncompromisingly and Thomas had to bite his tongue to keep the groan in. “There are three guest rooms available.”

_Three? But… oh._

He tried not to burn through the ground – if they were going to stay, Thomas couldn’t possibly sleep in his own room without rousing suspicion, which meant sleeping with Newt in one bed.

_Fuck._

“I don’t think-,” Janson started and Thomas really, really hoped he would say no, but of course luck wasn’t on his side in this one.

“Problem solved,” Brenda, the terrorist, interrupted him without even raising her head from the display. “At least we don’t need to circle around the city like idiots.”

“See?” Newt beamed happily and Thomas wanted to kick him.

***

“Stop pouting.”

“I’m not pouting, I’m freaking out,” Thomas uttered while walking to Newt’s bedroom with another pile of his clothes, putting it neatly into an open wardrobe. “Teresa would be fine, but Janson?”

“Well, it would be rude to just tell them _good luck_ and _bye_ , wouldn’t it,” Newt opposed when he passed him with another pile of Thomas’ clothes. The Inquisition left for sightseeing and lunch; even though Newt offered to cook something for them, and Thomas was grateful for that. They immediately started moving all the stuff from Thomas’ room to Newt’s while making the place look like nobody slept there for a month (Thomas at least learned where the clean bedsheets were when they were changing them), and Thomas couldn’t help the nervousness that gripped him when walking into Newt’s bedroom.

“No, it would be common sense,” Thomas whined. “You know how they are.”

“I don’t, quite frankly,” Newt shrugged and leaned against the door frame of his bedroom. “I know Grumpy bear and Witch of the wilds, but the rest of them not so much. Brenda wears cool shirts and Aris has a girlfriend, that’s probably all I know. I didn’t even meet Janson before.”

“Oh.”

“It’s going to be fine, you freak out for nothing. It’s a good thing that at least part of your family cares,” Newt assured him with a smile. “And I sleep like dead, so don’t worry about that either.”

Oh god, the sleeping arrangement. Thomas wasn’t sure how he was going to survive that. He was aware Newt slept only in a shirt and underwear, and that was a bit too much naked skin for Thomas to handle calmly.

“Speaking of common sense, we don’t need to do anything out of ordinary either,” the blond added and stepped out of the way of Thomas’ last package. “It would be much weirder if we did I think. Nobody sane would try to make out in front of the relatives.”

_Make out. Help._

“Yeah,” Thomas piped and sat at the edge of the bed with a long sigh. “If they at least called before dropping here like that.”

“Maybe it’s a test,” Newt offered and flopped next to him, stretching his long legs. He was barefooted, as always, and Thomas found it adorable for some reason. “You know, if we can handle the pressure? Pretty sure Grumpy came with it.”

Well, it could have been Teresa’s style, Thomas had to admit. But he always told her everything was fine when they called to each other, she didn’t have a reason to be here to check on them. Unless she thought he was lying.

“You sure you don’t mind them here?” he glanced at his blond husband hesitantly and Newt smiled at him.

“Pretty sure I don’t,” he assured him gently. “As long as we are all civil, there are no hard feelings.”

“I hope Janson is going to be,” Thomas uttered dryly. “He loves to nag people.”

He was well known for it and even Ava sometimes got fed up with his attitude. If he started to pick on somebody, or something, it was difficult to stop him before the shit hit the fan.

“I’ll handle him,” Newt smirked and nudged him with his shoulder. “So, which side of the bed?”

“Right,” Thomas immediately shot out and Newt chuckled.

“Good choice.”

“Is it where you sleep?”

“Yup,” the blond shrugged. “But I don’t really care to be honest. I can sleep about everywhere.”

“Then I’ll take the left,” Thomas concluded and Newt made a face. “It’s your bed.”

“Well, starting today it’s _our_ bed,“ Newt pointed out with a grin and Thomas’ heart beat like crazy at that notion. “Let it sink in and tell me later which side you want.”

_He must be doing this on purpose. How should I deal with this?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetad!
> 
> "Have to sleep together" trope, check.


	13. Gal Pals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You guys are so freaking domestic, it’s like watching a gay TV show,” Aris suddenly spoke up and Thomas didn’t even notice him sitting at the barstool on the opposite side of the desk, leering at them propped on his elbows.   
> “At least it’s entertaining, no?” Newt reacted without hesitation when Thomas felt his face heating up, so he rather turned around when clearing his throat. Nothing out of ordinary would be a great advice if Thomas’ brain didn’t decide he wanted to do the exact opposite. “Most of the heteronormative shows are so damn boring.”  
> “Sure,” Aris smirked. “Glad you decided to spice it up for our Thomas, we thought he’d be a virgin forever.”

“Huh, where’s Brenda?”

“Said she wants to take a break from us,” Teresa closed the door behind her and followed the family visit into the flat. Not that Thomas blamed the girl for wanting a breather from this group, especially since Janson had been leading it. From the expressions all of them had it was probably as terrible as Thomas thought it would be.

“I’m giving her two hours,” Janson uttered dryly and walked straight to the balcony, as if he hoped to see Brenda from up there (it was the highest floor, Thomas doubted he would, but whatever was floating his boat).

“I think she has a date here,” Aris piped quiet enough for Janson not to hear him. “She tried to act like the trip is super boring, but I’ve seen her being all excited when we landed and texting somebody, so twenty bucks I’m right.”

“Aww, our Brenda is all grown up,” Thomas snickered and earned a frown from Teresa. She was a mother hen as well, so maybe the worry was bigger than the fun of his little cousin being interested in dating when she was always making faces at romance mentions.

“She’s alone in New York, I fail to see the fun in it,” she hissed accusingly and Thomas had to force himself not to roll his eyes. It wasn’t like Brenda was a kid, she was almost seventeen.

“It’s an adventure,” Newt’s voice added to the conversation and Thomas smiled at his husband, who was standing at the kitchen counter, making himself tea. “Has she been in New York before?”

“Nope,” Aris answered faster than Teresa could even open her mouth. “I wasn’t here before either, so it’s pretty cool.”

“See,” Newt shrugged, looking at the black haired girl. “It’s cool.”

“It’s going to be cool once she gets back here, unharmed,” Teresa grumbled and ended the conversation with everyone, since she went to sit on the couch and crossed arms on her chest. It usually translated to _fuck off_.

Thomas only shrugged towards Newt and the blond smirked and focused back on his task.

***

Brenda got back four and half hour later. It was already dark outside and Janson gave her an earful for it, which, quite frankly, didn’t look like it even reached Brenda’s ears. She looked about the same as always – bored – but Thomas had a feeling she was satisfied with this day in her way, and no yapping could take that from her.

“I’m tired,” she just said when Janson took a breath in the middle of his monologue. “Can I borrow the bathroom?”

“Sure, it’s in the back,” Newt reacted briskly and pointed at the right direction. “The clean towels are in the drawers inside.”

“Ta,” she voiced out and walked out on them without a single glance back. Janson looked rather shocked, Thomas thought, but then he cleared his throat and joined Teresa at the couch where the news was on, seemingly closing any other interaction as well.

 _That was easy_.

“Gotta love happy endings,” Newt piped towards Thomas with a smile and Thomas chuckled and his hand automatically reached for Newt’s back, caressing it gently before he realized what he had been doing and released the hold. Newt didn’t seem to notice, since he continued in peeling the orange he took earlier, and when he was done, he offered a piece to Thomas. Thomas knew he was probably supposed to take it by hand, but he bit it instead and Newt grinned at him in amusement.

“You guys are so freaking domestic, it’s like watching a gay TV show,” Aris suddenly spoke up and Thomas didn’t even notice him sitting at the barstool on the opposite side of the desk, leering at them propped on his elbows.

“At least it’s entertaining, no?” Newt reacted without hesitation when Thomas felt his face heating up, so he rather turned around when clearing his throat. _Nothing out of ordinary_ would be a great advice if Thomas’ brain didn’t decide he wanted to do the exact opposite. “Most of the heteronormative shows are so damn boring.”

“Sure,” Aris smirked. “Glad you decided to spice it up for our Thomas, we thought he’d be a virgin forever.”

“Aris!” Thomas barked at him, horrified, and there was no damn way he was looking at Newt _now_. God, he felt like melting into puddle would be the best thing right now than facing him. But then a slap on his butt fell and he barely stopped a yelp coming up his throat.

“Definitely not a virgin anymore,” Newt informed their visit sweetly and if Thomas wasn’t the one getting groped right now, he would probably believe every word Newt was saying – especially when he alone must have been red like tomato.

“Dude,” Aris laughed and Thomas really, really wanted to disappear.

***

Newt had been a great host. There was probably nothing to complain about, even if you really tried, since he cared about Thomas’ family like it was his job and he got paid for it. Not even Janson said a word against it, and he _always_ found something when he had a chance. But nope, he was actually looking appreciative through the whole thing and kept any negative comments to himself, which was definitely a huge victory for them.

“If anything, feel free to raid the fridge,” Newt said and stood up. He looked a little sleepy and Thomas wasn’t even surprised – the clock showed a little past midnight and Newt usually called it night around eleven. “I’m going to sleep for today.”

“Good night, Newton,” Janson nodded to him, surprisingly polite it made Thomas question his health. Maybe he had a traveling fever? He was never this nice to random people, and quite frankly Thomas expected him to have nasty comments about the marriage, but nothing came. “Again thank you for letting us stay here.”

“My pleasure,” the blond smiled and then his eyes fell on Thomas. “Join me whenever.”

“Will do,” Thomas confirmed it and when Newt leaned in, Thomas tilted his head up in advance and their lips touched. It took probably a second, in retrospective, a fleeting, almost too innocent moment of parting, but for Thomas it felt like he got buried into lava for how hot his body became, and even though Newt was already disappearing up the stairs to the bedroom, he still stared after him like completely enchanted.

 _We kissed_.

They never kissed on lips before. Newt pecked him on the cheek, yes, but that was pretty innocent. This… It wasn’t like it was a French kiss. It didn’t even remind of a lover kiss, it was, again, just a peck, a good night farewell, but still. His heart refused to calm down and he had a feeling it wanted out of his chest.

“Like I said, I doubt it’s a boy,” he heard Janson talking, but somehow he sounded like far, far away. “People in love acts differently and she has still the same pubertal attitude. If she acted like Thomas, I’d reconsider.”

“What?” that woke him up and he blinked in confusion. “What about me?”

“That you’re disgustingly in love with your husband, how atrocious,” Aris nagged with a grin.

_In love with my husband._

Well, he definitely liked him. And fancied him as well, apparently, a guy or not. But how could he not? This guy was a saint, lovable and caring, and not getting swept along would be a sin. But love?

 “The point is,” Janson glared at Aris like he was warning him to shut up, so the boy really did. “If she had been in love, we would notice.”

“I’ve seen her smiling at her phone like an idiot when she thought we’re not looking,” Aris piped and nudged Teresa’s shoulder. “Right? You saw her too.”

She just hummed something, but remained silent. Actually, she had been quiet almost the whole time she was here and Thomas wondered why. Could she be angry at him? Or was she worried because of Brenda? She didn’t look like in a bad mood, but the silence was untypical for her as well.

“I’ll keep an eye on her,” Janson concluded with a long sigh. “Wandering the city alone, I don’t know why I even let her go before. She could have gotten lost.”

“She’s not a kid anymore,” Thomas tried. His thoughts were rather mingled, and thinking about Newt was dangerous right now, so he really needed to talk about something else to stop himself from running after his husband and…

And what? Damn, he didn’t even know what. It was so damn frustrating.

“She’s 16,” Janson barked. _Wrong argument_. “That’s still a kid!”

“Alright, alright,” Thomas mumbled. “Sorry.”

“When _you_ were 16, you could barely tie your own shoelaces, for fuck’s sake,” of course Janson didn’t stop and Thomas mentally slapped himself to even try and argue with him. “Not to mention dating. I believe you still thought babies pops out of thin air.”

“Very funny,” Thomas uttered. He was kind of slow in these things at 16; he had to admit, but not _that_ slow.

“Wouldn’t even be surprised if you still thought so, especially when you got married to a man,” another jab and Janson stood up as well and started walking towards the stairs. “But whatever. Brenda is not you and I barely keep up with her. If there really was somebody she dated behind our back, then I _want_ to know about it. Or she will get married without us knowing too and Ava will have a heart-attack.”

Thomas cringed and decided to keep his comments to himself. He felt like the next remark would mention something even worse and he didn’t need that.

 “Oh, another thing, Thomas,” Janson stopped, turning back towards the living room. “Don’t think you’re off the loop now. Once Ava calms down, she’s going to demand a re-take.”

“I’m sorry?”

“The wedding,” Janson elaborated with a sigh. “You really irked her with not inviting anybody.”

“That’s her main problem with this?” Thomas stared at him in shock and Janson shrugged.

“You know her,” he just said. “Family is important to her.”

With that he waved them off and disappeared up the stairs. Silence stretched some more until they heard a click how the guest’s room door closed behind him, and then Aris groaned.

“Watch them both having a field day once they realize Brenda is dating a gal.”

“What?” Thomas blinked. “What gal?”

“Her gal pal Harriet?” Aris pointed out like it should have made sense to him, but it didn’t ring the bell at all. “She had been in contact with her for like… half a year already.”

“And that means they’re dating?” Thomas asked doubtfully. Of course you never knew with Brenda, she had been changing styles and hobbies faster than socks, but dating a girl behind everybody’s back was rather farfetched. “Something would give her away. Janson would know.”

“Hey, you dated Newt for three years and nobody knew,” Aris opposed and it was like a hit to the jaw. Thomas almost said he didn’t before he thankfully stopped himself and deflated like a balloon. “And, well, maybe they’re not dating, but there is definitely something going on. I just know it.”

“I think she said Harriet is from New York, actually,” Teresa suddenly spoke. “So it would make sense if she wanted to be alone with her and ditched us for it.”

“Harriet,” Thomas repeated the name. “From New York.”

“Yeah,” Teresa shrugged and Thomas tilted his head to the side.

No, it would be too much of a coincidence. It couldn’t be THE Harriet, Newt’s Harriet, could it? He didn’t even know if she was originally from New York or not. It wasn’t even an uncommon name, the chances were like… almost zero.

And yet… what if?

“Well, my dude and dudette,” Aris jumped on his feet and stretched. “I’m half dead already. Going to sleep as well.”

Thomas waved him off and once the footsteps disappeared in the silence, he glanced at Teresa. She still looked rather down.

“So what’s eating you?” he asked quietly. “Is it about Brenda?”

“Kind of,” she mumbled. “I’m just worried if she’s not getting herself into bad things. She has a knack for it, you know her.”

“Yeah, but you all still consider her a kid. She’s not ten anymore.”

“She’s 16 and people are doing stupid things at this age,” she opposed, but much calmer than Janson did before. “But she doesn’t want to talk to me. I don’t know what to do.”

“Not forcing it is the best way,” he suggested and leaned back on the couch. He was getting sleepy too, but the image of him lying next to Newt was always getting his body into much different mood than sleep had been.

“I suppose,” she nodded and looked at her watch. “I guess it’s really time to call it a night.”

“Yup.”

She didn’t move for a moment, and then looked at him almost curiously.

“He’s really nice.”

Thomas didn’t need to ask her who she was talking about. He smiled and nodded slightly, because _yes_ , Newt was really nice. And he was nice to everybody and deserved a prize for it sometimes, really.

“Nervous about sleeping with him?” she whispered. “Or maybe you already did, hm?”

“Shush it,” he rolled his eyes. “I’ll manage.”

_While dying of embarrassment._

“Well, good night,” she patted his shoulder and smiled at him sweetly. “Sweet dreams, loverboy.”

He wonder if he would even fall asleep, not to mention have any dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetad!
> 
> I just can't stop laughing over the "gal pals" term, I'm sorry :D Anyway! Sleeping together chapter got slightly postponed, but it's going to be tomorrow (hopefully) ^^


	14. Pillow Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Is this about the virgin reference from Aris?” Thomas rolled his eyes and Newt snorted. Sometimes Aris really needed a filter on his mouth, he just knew his husband was going to catch it and ask about it, especially after the groping session.  
> “Not really, but now when you mention it…” the blond smirked at him and Thomas buried his face into the pillow. “Don’t worry. I won’t tease you with it.”  
> “No?”  
> “Or you want me to?” Newt raised an eyebrow and Thomas groaned. “I take that as a no.”

Thomas’ first instinct was to go to _his_ room and he stopped himself just in time before the handle rattled. He had no idea _who_ was in his bed right now, but even if it was Teresa, it would be awkward as hell. He let go slowly and took few steps back with a deep breath, and when no sound from the inside came, he let it back out in relief.

Of course. Newt’s room, that was his destination. His husband’s bed. _No pressure._

They had a nice relationship. They had a lot to say to each other, they had similar tastes, they were familiar with each other on board of being _domestic_ , as Aris pointed out – and to which Thomas could say it was for the show, but it was not. He didn’t do all of that because of the presence of his family and he knew it.

Of course Newt’s actions after were for the best impression – like the butt slapping and the kiss – but outside of that they simply behaved like they normally did and for an outsider it must have looked like they were indeed a couple.

That was probably why Thomas was so nervous about it. If he would do something overboard needlessly – like now when the chance basically presented itself with sleeping in one damn bed, being in reach and all, it could ruin _everything_. Yeah, Newt was nice to him, and sometimes Thomas would even say he flirted, but he was nice to _everybody_. The fact they got married because Thomas wanted to rebel didn’t make him any more special.

He entered the room with dreading hesitation and it was quiet and dark. At first he didn’t see or hear a thing and remained awkwardly standing at the closed door, trying to get used to the darkness. In the end they didn’t even settled down on the sleeping arrangement and he had no idea on which side of the bed Newt slept right now. When he imagined dropping on him accidentally it almost sent him out of the room in embarrassment.

Then he heard a rustling of sheets and his heart almost stopped.

“Tommy?” came from the darkness and he let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding and hummed. He didn’t trust his voice just yet for a proper answer; it would probably be a stuttering mess.

Another set of rustling and then a small light at the bed lit up, filling the room with a dim orange hue, revealing Newt at the left side of the bed (of course he was on the left side, he was goddamn unbelievable), sitting up with a yawn. He had AC/DC t-shirt and dishevelled hair and Thomas’ first thought was _adorable_.

“All good?” he asked and Thomas nodded stupidly and padded towards the bed. It wasn’t small, they had plenty of space for themselves, and yet it still felt like a dangerous territory. Either Newt didn’t notice his obvious hesitation or politely decided to overlook it, because he lay back down and let out a tired sigh.

“Wasn’t sure if you’re not mad at me.”

“Mad?” that finally made Thomas talk and he quickly sat on the mattress, mainly to show he really wasn’t mad or didn’t want to share the bed with him – because that seriously wasn’t the problem. Not to mention there was nothing to be mad about. “For what?”

“For the kiss, I guess,” Newt’s voice was low and little rough from sleep and Thomas found himself _loving it_. Seriously, this was getting out of hand, just a bit more and Newt would have to keep him at arm length or there were going to be consequences. Maybe that was why it took him a while before he realized what he was asked and he cleared his throat nervously.

“Not at all,” he managed to say. “Why would I be?”

“I dunno,” Newt mumbled. If Thomas wasn’t so sleepy already, he would say Newt sounded sheepish, but that could have been only his mind playing tricks on him. “I wasn’t planning to… I mean, I didn’t expect you to reach out like that and then it was too late anyway, so I just wanted to know if I didn’t cross any borders.”

“Nope,” Thomas piped. “I don’t mind.”

At all. Even a little. _Fuck._

“You don’t mind,” Newt repeated and propped himself on his elbow. “At all?”

“At all,” Thomas shrugged to mask how jittery he had been and slid under the cover. Sometimes he really felt like Newt could read his mind, especially now, when he was watching him like he was expecting something more. Thomas quickly recapitulated all he had done to see if he didn’t forget about anything, but nothing came to his mind, if there hadn’t been a custom he never heard of, so he glanced at the blond in a silent question as well.

“Have I… forgotten something?” he asked when Newt didn’t say anything else. His dark eyes were almost hypnotizing and Thomas felt like drowning in them.

“No?” Newt opposed lightly. “Sorry. Just thinking.”

“What, about the kiss?” Thomas wasn’t even sure _why_ he mentioned it again, like he loved to dig himself a grave, and Newt chuckled.

“Since you cleared it up for me, I can rest easy,” he assured him and turned on his side, facing Thomas with half lidded eyes. “I’m just awed for how damn innocent you are.”

“Is this about the virgin reference from Aris?” Thomas rolled his eyes and Newt snorted. Sometimes Aris really needed a filter on his mouth, he just _knew_ his husband was going to catch it and ask about it, especially after the groping session.

“Not really, but now when you mention it…” the blond smirked at him and Thomas buried his face into the pillow. “Don’t worry. I won’t tease you with it.”

“No?”

“Or you want me to?” Newt raised an eyebrow and Thomas groaned. “I take that as a no.”

“Please do not,” Thomas whined pitifully and then felt a gentle ruffling of his hair. The touch was light, but sure, and really pleasant.

“Don’t worry, I’m not that cruel,” Newt’s voice was soothing and Thomas kind of wanted to curl closer to that calm presence and warmth, just to know how it feels. It was a stupid idea; of course it was, but still present in the back of his mind with an insistent pulling here and there.

“You made an impression,” he whispered, turning slightly so he could see Newt’s face again. The blond was still watching him, albeit sleepily, and it was a really nice sight. Thomas wouldn’t mind him to be the last thing he would see in the evening and the first he would see after waking up and it occurred to him so naturally he didn’t even wonder how it even came to.

“Did I?”

“Yeah, Janson apparently likes you,” Thomas nodded, his eyes skimming all over Newt’s face. He had a really nice lips as well. Super kissable. _Welp._ “And Teresa actually said you’re nice. That’s a huge compliment.”

“I’m honoured,” Newt grinned.

“I just don’t get how you can keep such a supernatural equilibrium,” Thomas pointed out. “I mean there are so many things that could make you annoyed and you’re just so… nice. All the time.”

Newt watched him for a moment and when he wasn’t saying anything for too long, Thomas felt the panic inside of him swell. Was it too much to say? He didn’t mean anything bad by it, he loved that side of him, but maybe it wasn’t exactly the right thing to say.

“I’m praising you actually,” he quickly added. “It’s not complaining. I’m awed, really. Smitten even.”

“Smitten, huh,” Newt said simply and his eyes seemed darker for some reason.

“I never met anybody even a little resembling your personality; it’s kind of overwhelming, really,” Thomas tried a little different approach. “Sometimes I just really want to hug you like a teddy bear. Which… sounded better in my head.”

“No, hugging like a teddy bear sounds pretty cool,” the smile was back and Newt actually looked happy about it. “I wouldn’t mind a hug here and there. Hugs are nice.”

“They are.”

Hugging him sounded like a nice addition to their daily routine, he had to admit.

“I’m not that nice though,” Newt let out a small sigh and started pulling at the edge of Thomas’ pillow, like he tried to take his mind off something he didn’t like. “And I’ve been much, much worse few years back.”

“That’s hard to believe,” Thomas commented and his hand itched to touch Newt’s, especially when it was so close. “I mean you’re nice to everybody and always keep your cool, that’s awesome.”

“Eh,” a small shrug. “If you met me in my twenties, you wouldn’t like me at all.”

“I highly doubt that, I like you a lot,” Thomas opposed and Newt chuckled. His hand stilled for a moment and Thomas seized to opportunity and touched it, making the blond turn it palm up in an offer. Thomas immediately intertwined their fingers together and hummed contently at it.

They really were pretty domestic, weren’t they?

“I used to be really mean,” Newt spoke up again in a low voice. “I thought being nice to somebody is a waste of effort and energy. So I snapped at people and was a sarcastic arsehole, and it was making me pretty much miserable. But I thought life was a bitch and treated me that way back as well, so why should I not treat it the same?”

“That doesn’t sound like you at all,” Thomas piped and Newt squeezed his hand as if he agreed. “So what happened?”

“Well. Life,” the blond drawled. “It’s always life, and maybe some karma too. Dealing with things in negative approach equals in a negative result, no matter what you do. I paid the price, I changed. Because suddenly if you made somebody smile, it kinda fills you too, you know? Even if not with money or fortune, it’s warm and fuzzy and I like that. So I started to go by a new policy – make at least one person smile every day.”

“What if it’s the same person every day?” Thomas asked softly and Newt smiled at him like he understood him completely. And well, maybe he did. It wasn’t like Thomas was ever good at hiding things, not when they threatened to spill out of him every second.

And this wanted out for sure, there was just so much affection in him, so much adoration, it was difficult to keep it bottled up. And since he didn’t even need to _act_ in front of his family and they still said he was _disgustingly in love_ , there had to be something about that for sure, and inevitable for Newt to notice that. That was why he would suck so much if they really dated three years ago – the whole household would know immediately.

“Well, then the goal is fulfilled without too much of an effort,” Newt said easily and closed his eyes with a soft sigh. “Promise you’ll never change.”

At that point Thomas would probably promise everything he would ask him for, even if it was his soul.

***

It was early; Thomas knew that the moment he stirred awake and the reality flooded his consciousness. It took him several seconds to realize he had been in Newt’s bedroom and why, and then also the fact Newt wasn’t there anymore, only an empty spot remained. Thomas stared at the place where his husband slept for several long seconds and tried not to be disappointed he didn’t wake up sooner to see him.

_Fuck, so cliché._

But it was only six in the morning – that was earlier than Newt had been regularly waking up – and Thomas felt his body being weak and almost refusing to move.

He slept only a little. As much as the _sleepover_ progressed smoothly and Newt fell back asleep almost immediately after they stopped talking, Thomas wasn’t as lucky. It was different setting again and Newt’s presence was overloading Thomas’ senses no matter how hard he tried to block it, so in the end he slept probably two hours without trying to toss and turn as much so he wouldn’t wake Newt up, and that only put him under more strain.

“No way,” he mumbled. He was not waking up yet. Although his bladder was saying otherwise, which in the end was exactly what chased him out of the warm bed and to the bathroom.

The hallway was quiet and the rooms as well, so all of them were probably still asleep except of Newt, and when Thomas approached the stairs more, he realized he heard two voices talking and it stopped him as if he was a robber that realized owners of the house were home.

“…I dunno, they took it fine with Thomas.”

Brenda’s voice. Oh, so she was up as well already? Thomas hesitated and then made another step closer. He didn’t see them, but their voices were pretty clear, especially when Newt spoke, no matter how far he had been.

“I guess they did,” he was just saying. “No homophobic attacks at least, kudos for them. I expected at least a little from Ava.”

“Mom is fine,” Brenda opposed and Thomas could imagine her shrugging at it. “She just has a controlling complex. The worst thing you could do to her is exclude her from planning something important. Like the marriage. Pretty sure it’s eating her she wasn’t there for it.”

“For the wedding itself?” Newt sounded surprised. “Wouldn’t say so from the talk she gave us.”

“She plays it tough,” Brenda said and Thomas heard footsteps and then a slight creak, probably as she sat on the armchair. ”But she’s a big softie on the inside. Just needs time, you get me?”

“Mhm.”

“Pretty sure she was shocked that out of all people it was Thomas who rebelled like that,” she added and Thomas cringed. That was probably true. He was never a type who would disobey her. “He’d always been such a mama boy, you have nooo idea.”

“Was he now?” Newt chuckled and Thomas had an urge to go and strangle Brenda for telling him that. “He seems individualistic to me.”

“If you say so,” she uttered and he could imagine the smirk plastered on her face right now. “But I was kinda surprised too. I mean Thomas, marrying a guy? If somebody just told me before, I’d laugh at them. He barely dated girls; he was such a hopeless case. I still don’t know what you see in him, really.”

“He’s lovable,” Newt answered calmly and Thomas’ heart almost stopped. “Fun. Smart. Caring. And I love his eyes.”

“Eyes?” she repeated dubiously.

“Well, among other things,” he chuckled and Thomas felt his cheeks heating up. If he didn’t know this was for a show, he would be _sure_ Newt was in love with him. That they indeed married because they loved each other. Because they wanted to be together.

“I always thought he’s useless mama boy,” she snorted. “Like, without his own opinion all the time. Teresa controlled him like a puppet.”

_Mean._

“Being in love is funny,” Newt’s voice moved a little further, probably to the kitchen, and Thomas strained a little to hear him. His voice dropped a little as well, probably intentionally. “You see everything nicer. Better. Flawless. And it’s a really, really bad feeling when somebody who should support you says _but what do you like about them? They are so terrible!_ Ever felt that? From friends or family?”  

There was a moment of silence for a while, then a sigh.

“I see your point,” she concluded. “Sorry.”

“No worries,” he said easily. “You may see him that way, but for me he’s the exact flawless person I want in my life. I’m pretty much fine with keeping his charms to myself.”

She made a vague noise, Thomas was pretty sure also a weird face, and then the TV noise filled the place. Thomas took a deep breath, told his bladder to hold it for a bit more and returned to the bedroom like hypnotized.

It was official.

He was in love with Newt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetad!
> 
> The cat is out of the bag.


	15. Storytelling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “See, a guilty conscience is a self-accuser,” she stuck her tongue at him and Thomas considered throwing one of his dirty shirts at her. “So what, you found out handshakes are cool and dandy and then you got married?”  
> “We found out we click well,” Newt concluded it simply and Thomas felt like they arrived to the present with the storytelling. “And then when the chance presented itself, I struck.”  
> “You struck,” Brenda uttered dryly. “Like, you asked him to marry you?”  
> “I sexed him up,” Newt deadpanned and Thomas almost choked. “Marriage came much later.”

Thomas managed to stay in his room for two more hours until the need to pee was unbearable and he had to leave the safety of his bed (Newt’s bed, their bed) and walk down the stairs, immediately meeting with everyone fully awake and eating breakfast.

“Look who woke up,” Aris commented with a laugh and mouth full of scrambled eggs. Thomas only made a face at him, greeted the rest of them and when he spotted Newt standing at the table, he walked up to him and pecked him on the lips, just because he could, earning a smile from the blond and gentle touch on his waist.

He wanted to tell him _thank you for what you said to Brenda_ , but bit his tongue and retreated to the bathroom instead to get the needed relief. Of course Newt would defend him – it was part of the role. If he said something negative, Brenda would definitely get suspicious, so he had to say that, even though he may not believe it himself.

Although Thomas kind of hoped he did.

When he got back to the living room (after a rather cold shower, just to be sure), his happy family was apparently in a deep conversation about the best sightseeing trip (except of Brenda who sat on the balcony with her phone and promptly ignored them) and Newt was sitting on the couch while browsing on his tablet, seemingly not paying them much of his mind either. Thomas immediately spotted the plate with food waiting for him on the table, and had to smile when reaching for it. Seriously was there something _not lovable_ about this guy? He took the plate and sat beside his husband with a dramatic sigh, and when Newt glanced at him in question, Thomas only nodded towards the bickering group and Newt nodded with a smirk.

“Mate, you’re like a walking popsicle,” Newt stared at him with a worried crease between his brows. “You literally emit cold. You okay?”

“Sure, I’m fine,” Thomas shrugged and it was funny, since he didn’t really feel that chilly anymore. Maybe the shower was colder than he thought? “Probably took a colder shower than I should have. Was so hot.”

“Was it?” Newt raised an eyebrow, but if he was onto him, he didn’t mention it. He only rubbed Thomas’ arm as if he was trying to get him warmer and then Janson was asking him about monuments, so Thomas rather started to eat and left them to it.

***

Thomas couldn’t say he was surprised when Brenda stayed in the flat while others went out, he actually expected as much, and the rest of them as well. Teresa tried to coax her, but Brenda didn’t budge and said she would _rather die of boredom than get another of uncle’s lectures._ Her only luck was that Janson didn’t hear it, or she would get one right on the spot.

Thomas decided to do some housework (or at least something that resembled it, he sucked at it), just to make himself busy, and left Newt to do the cooking, with Brenda prowling around. He was pretty sure she wanted to talk to him more, but didn’t know why – it wasn’t like she was that interested in their relationship. Not that he was surprised about it – talking with Newt even about weather would be enjoyable, and Thomas wondered if it was just his personality, or the fact he could make everything interesting by the simplest notions.

He was just walking down the stairs when he heard Brenda’s voice from the kitchen, and it was almost like Deja Vu. He didn’t stop walking though and was glad she didn’t shut up right the moment she spotted him.

“I mean,” she was just saying and pointed at Thomas like he came to the picture at the right time. “You can see it on him _miles_ away. I don’t get how he managed to keep hidden he was in love with you for _three_ years.”

“That’s because he wasn’t in love with me,” Newt answered with a shrug and Thomas felt himself stiffening. Wait, did he tell her? Did Brenda know? He refused to look back at them from his spot and his body was like somebody literally froze him over.

“He was not?” Brenda asked in a confused voice. “But you said you dated for three years.”

“Well, we actually dated for about two,” Newt opposed calmly and Thomas felt he could breathe again. “He was a fortress to be sieged. It took me some time. I had to work for it, you see.”

“What, Thomas was a fortress?” Brenda snorted and at that point Thomas found it safe to turn around and roll his eyes at her. “That’s hard to believe.”

“He was, he was,” Newt grinned and winked at Thomas like it was completely normal to make things up like that (well, it probably was, at least for him, but Thomas was _terrified_ what he was going to hear, since it was Brenda who asked and she was going to use it against him for sure).

“It took a careful wooing, for a long, long time,” Newt continued easily and poured himself a glass of juice. He reminded him of a barman who was telling stories to his customers, and it even felt like that. “And that’s not something you can speed up, you see? It was a challenge. And then, little by little, I’ve seen him starting to change his attitude towards me. He was friendlier and more comfortable around me. We started to touch-,”

“Touch?” she interrupted him with raised eyebrows and Thomas realized this didn’t sound like Newt made it up entirely as he went. It was like that – Thomas did started to warm up to him, and the touching became natural, even though it had been a problem at first, alright. It took him some time before he stopped flinching after every attempt, but now he couldn’t imagine _not_ touching Newt somehow every day.

_Guess he trained me well._

Thomas huffed and reached for shirts he brought from upstairs and which he wanted to put into the washing machine, but his legs refused to carry him to his destination as long as Newt was talking.

 “Yeah, he was terrible with the touching stuff, like a frightened rabbit,” Newt shrugged. “But then he started to initiate it and everything. Little by little.”

“I thought gay guys start up with sex,” she pointed out flatly and Newt barked out a laugh and Thomas groaned. Of course she had to say something like that.

“Not really,” Newt grinned. “At least not when you’re serious.”

“And here I thought it was a love at first sight,” Brenda uttered dryly. “That’s disappointing.”

“Eh, not at all,” Newt chuckled and Thomas wondered if Newt thought it through or if he was making it up the details as he went. They never talked about it like this and now when Thomas was thinking about it, it was curious they did not. There were so many people possible to ask them and they basically didn’t know what to say all this time. “Maybe for me, kind of. Not for him though.”

“Oi,” Thomas crossed his arms on his chest. When Newt could be a storyteller, Thomas had a say in it as well. “Says who?”

“Don’t listen to him,” Newt smirked and Thomas was up to winning an eye rolling contest soon with this approach. “It was a hard work, I tell you. Being nice and doing everything I could so he would like me. It took several damn long phases; I had to plan it like a sophisticated trap.”

“There, there,” Brenda snorted. “It’s Thomas we’re talking about; of course it took time before it reached past his thick skull.”

“Oi!”

“See, a guilty conscience is a self-accuser,” she stuck her tongue at him and Thomas considered throwing one of his dirty shirts at her. “So what, you found out handshakes are cool and dandy and then you got married?”

“We found out we click well,” Newt concluded it simply and Thomas felt like they arrived to the present with the storytelling. “And then when the chance presented itself, I struck.”

“You struck,” Brenda uttered dryly. “Like, you asked him to marry you?”

“I sexed him up,” Newt deadpanned and Thomas almost choked. “Marriage came much later.”

“Newt!” Thomas groaned, but the blond didn’t look apologetic at all and Brenda started giggling like a school girl.

Wait, she still was a school girl. What the hell were they talking about with her?

“Good you did,” Brenda pointed out with a wide grin and Thomas kind of wanted to tell her to go to her room and pray. “He’d be able to go and marry Teresa otherwise, even though he wouldn’t want to, if it was solely up to him.”

“I know, right?” Newt smiled more at him than at her and Thomas felt his face heating up. “But then again they say if you like it you should put a ring on it, so it was no hardship. I would do it sooner or later anyway.”

“Still a mystery though,” he heard Brenda’s voice, but somehow couldn’t really pay her much of his attention when he stared into Newt’s eyes like hypnotized. They were really dark, even though he was a natural blond, and Thomas never knew it was _a thing_ for him until lately. “I mean, Thomas, you’re so damn bad at hiding stuff, how did you even do that without somebody knowing? Did Teresa know?”

His name pulled him from the tunnel vision successfully and he quickly looked at her and shortly nodded.

“She did,” he said in a low voice. “But not the whole time. Only closer to the wedding.”

“Not buying it,” Brenda said resolutely and looked at Newt with a stubborn expression. “Did you always erase his memory when he came back home?”

“Maybe,” the blond chuckled. “Or maybe you’re simply underestimating him.”

“Thank you,” Thomas said while glaring at her and she only let out a shrug. It wasn’t like she had been wrong. If he felt like he did lately and still lived home, they would call him out on it immediately. But Brenda didn’t need to know that.

Hell, nobody needed to know that.

“You gotta teach me how to do that,” she grumbled more to herself than to any of them. “This whole freaking family will be a death of me.”

With that she took her drink and disappeared upstairs, not saying another word.

“Love troubles at its best,” Newt commented just a short moment after they heard the door behind her closing, and sighed. “I admit with your family it’s gotta be tough if she wants to keep it a secret.”

“She told you she’s dating somebody?” Thomas tilted his head to the side and Newt hummed in agreement.

“Long distance relationship, sort of,” he shrugged. “Tough.”

_Could it really be Harriet?_

“Say Newt,” he left the shirts on the couch and walked towards the bar, immediately seizing Newt’s whole attention. “Wanted to ask. Is Harriet single?”

“Harriet?” Newt repeated the name in confusion. “My Harriet?”

“Your Harriet,” Thomas chuckled. It was funny, they even thought alike as well. “Is she from New York by the way?”

“Um, yeah,” the blond responded, a little taken back. “From New York. And as far as I know… single. But I can’t tell for sure, I don’t really ask about this stuff.”

“Pity,” Thomas sat down on a barstool in front of his husband and smiled. “She’s pretty.”

Newt stared at him for a moment, then took a breath and nodded.

“Yeah,” he piped quietly. “Sure is.”

“Never dabbled with girls?” Thomas asked for another question and almost laughed when Newt’s eyebrows shot up they almost got lost in his hair.

“I’m sorry?”

“Because Brenda is apparently dating _Harriet_ ,” Thomas pointed upstairs. “From New York. And I thought it would be too much of a coincidence, but then again… maybe not?”

“Harriet is dating Brenda?” Newt repeated the phrase like he couldn’t really believe that and then barked out a laugh. “You tit, here I thought you’re asking me about her because you want her number or something.”

“Nah, not really,” Thomas shrugged. “I’m already married. And since I was wooed for so long it would be a waste to ask for somebody else’s number, wouldn’t it.”

“Mhm,” Newt’s expression softened. “Most definitely.”

“Made me wonder though, after this whole talk you had with Brenda,” Thomas stood up again and walked back to the shirts he left on the couch, picking them up nonchalantly. “The phases.”

“What about them?” Newt’s voice sounded curious and Thomas turned back at him with a faked seriousness.

“At what phase are we now?”

He didn’t let him answer; he just sauntered to the bathroom and left Newt in the kitchen, gaping at him mutely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetad!
> 
> How to get three years of a relationship into few months span :D


	16. Lightweight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Aww, mate, one would have thought you don’t like sleeping with me in one bed with such talk,” Newt patted his cheek like Thomas was a child who just got explained how Santa Claus worked in the North pole. “What a bad husband you are.”  
> “That’s not fair,” Thomas pointed out unhappily. “You know it’s not because of that.”  
> “Oh, do I?” Newt tilted his head to the side. “As far as I know it can be exactly because of that.”

“That’s no problem at all.”

_That’s a huge problem!_

“Stay here as long as you want,” Newt added with an angelic face and Thomas wanted to bite him – and not even in a kinky way, just regularly bite him so it would hurt and he would understand keeping his family here longer than necessary was a bad idea.

“Much appreciated, Newton,” of course Janson was satisfied, since it was his idea and all, and Thomas could only quietly fume. Not even the fact Newt stood so close to him their hips were touching could help – nope, this was a regular under belt hit.

“You enjoy watching me suffer, don’t you,” he bit out when Janson finally retreated to the living room, leaving them alone in the kitchen corner, and Newt looked at him with obviously faked innocence.

“I can’t see the problem,” he told Thomas sweetly, his brown eyes boring into his, like it was some kind of revenge. “It’s your family after all.”

“You could say we’re going places or something,” Thomas grumbled and refused to react to the fact Newt circled his arm around his waist and pulled him even closer. He was _mad_. This was by no means a factor that would help him to cool down.

“Aww, mate, one would have thought you don’t like sleeping with me in one bed with such talk,” Newt patted his cheek like Thomas was a child who just got explained how Santa Claus worked in the North pole. “What a bad husband you are.”

“That’s not fair,” Thomas pointed out unhappily. “You know it’s not because of that.”

“Oh, do I?” Newt tilted his head to the side. “As far as I know it can be exactly because of that.”

“It’s not,” Thomas grumbled, his hand slowly tracing abstract shapes on Newt’s hip and he didn’t even know _how_ or _when_ he reached for him like this. He didn’t move it away though and Newt didn’t look like he minded either. They were so close he could almost count the eyelashes on Newt’s eyes and it was like static crackled around them somehow, leaving Thomas with a funny feeling in his belly.

“Mhm,” Newt voiced out, his lips curling up in a smug smile, and Thomas wanted to kiss it off. It was strange, since he never felt like this before and suddenly it overwhelmed all his senses at once, Newt’s intoxicating presence flooding into his, and suddenly he found himself leaning to him, until there was an insistent noise of somebody clearing their throat and Thomas almost lost his balance.

“Boys.”

_Teresa._

He would probably deny it if somebody asked him later, but he _glared_ at her with all his might and then some more when she smiled at him like she didn’t do anything wrong.

And she freaking did, for fuck’s sake, he was so _close_!

“Want to go clubbing with us?” she ignored his scowl without a single glimpse of guilt and nodded towards Aris. “With me and Aris.”

“What, Janson is not up for a challenge?” Newt smirked and how the hell he didn’t sound affected by it at all? Was it really just Thomas who was so stupidly out of balance right now?

“I think he wants to keep an eye on Brenda,” Teresa shrugged. “He can’t possibly take her with us, so he gotta stay.”

“Poor him,” the blond commented and looked back at Thomas. His eyes were darker at least, and half lidded, and it was doing _things_ to him. “Shall we?”

Well, what kind of options he had? Staying here would mean Janson would bother Newt until late hour, which meant _nothing_ was going to happen, even if Thomas was extra sneaky. Clubbing, on the other hand, provided dark corners and maybe some sort of privacy in the midst of anonymous crowd, so there was an evident winner right from the start.

“Sure,” he answered, but glared at Teresa one more time for a good measure. She had the audacity to smirk at him before going to get dressed and Thomas decided he was going to revoke her best friend status soon.

“Last time I saw you drunk you were grumpy as hell,” Newt’s voice pulled him from a murder planning and he realized they didn’t move an inch from each other. The butterflies in his belly started swarming again, in much bigger numbers. “Is that your default drunk status?”

“Not really,” Thomas shook his head and resumed the gentle caress on Newt’s hip. It was like somebody only flipped a switch inside of him, how quickly he was able to get back into the mood. “I’m actually a touchy feely drunk.”

“That sounds amendable,” Newt commented in a low voice. “Although you were troubled by touching even in a drunk state.”

“Well, it doesn’t trouble me even in a sober state now, so what do you think?” Thomas opposed and squeezed Newt’s hip a little more just to make a point. Newt hummed and his hand touched Thomas’ chest for a moment, as if he was trying to feel the heartbeat (it was crazy fast, almost too much), and then let go.

“Let’s get dressed then,” he said softly. “And we will check what’s true about the statement.”

Thomas let go only grudgingly.

***

Thomas wasn’t a party type and he didn’t feel he would ever be. He had been drinking and partying so little you could count it on one of your hands and he never really enjoyed it as much to repeat the experience. Maybe that was also why he wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from tonight, and it kind of felt like he was the only one. Newt’s friends were partying probably during the whole year and Thomas was sure Newt was experienced in it as well, even though he wasn’t joining them most of the time. Teresa usually partied a lot too, with Aris being the similar case, and that left Thomas feeling like Alice in Wonderland when they entered the noisy club full of skittering lights and dancing people. Before Thomas could even comprehend everything that was going on (he saw a couple kissing lewdly right at the entrance, then at the first table group of people were cheering up one of them to drink a terrible amount of beer, then on a dancefloor it was so wild he wasn’t sure where to look first), Aris was giving him a shot of clear liquid and all of them gulped it down on one go.

“After so much time with Janson I feel like getting terribly wasted,” Aris was saying loudly so they would hear him over the music and before they could react, he disappeared in the crowd, probably on his way back to the bar.

“Well, he has a point,” Teresa shrugged. “Thankfully most of the speeches were aimed at Brenda, so it wasn’t _that_ bad.”

“He seems fine to me,” Newt opposed and Thomas wondered if it would be too bold to drag him closer to him while looking possessive, because he really, really wanted to do that.

“That’s because he likes you for some reason,” she concluded, but it didn’t sound attacking at all – she was actually grinning at him and Newt snorted. “Well, be glad. He’s terrible when he tries to nag somebody.”

“I can second that,” Thomas piped and took a step closer. Newt seemed to expect it, since he immediately accommodated him with a slight turn so they could touch at least with their sides. “Let’s get something to drink?”

“Oh yes,” Newt’s lips widened in a smile. “I want to see you drunk after all.”

“No, you don’t want to see him drunk,” Teresa assured him and patted Thomas’ cheek like he was a small kid. “He can’t drink. And when he gets over his threshold, he’s so clingy you can call him an octopus.”

“Oh, that sounds perfect,” Newt laughed and Thomas yelped when he squeezed his butt in a tease. “I _need_ to see that.”

“Have fun,” she twirled around and disappeared in the crowd as well, probably looking for Aris. Thomas glared after her until Newt pulled at his arm, leading him towards the bar, and that at least made him lose the tenseness a little, especially when Newt gave him what he _usually drank_ in bars, heavy liquor that burned his throat and then warmed up his whole body to the tip of his fingers.

The last thing he clearly remembered was when he was touching Newt’s thigh and telling him he had a dream about these thighs seizing his hips when he made love to him.

Then he probably passed out.

***

“I told you. Drunk Thomas is no fun.”

Teresa’s voice. It was rather chilly, but he laid on something warm, and his head was spinning a little. When he cracked his eyes open, it was dark, thankfully, and after a second he realized he was staring right at Newt’s face, who was staring back at him with an amused smile on his face.

“Welcome back to the land of living, Tommy,” he heard his voice as if from very far, but the gentle touch in his hair that kept on petting him was real enough. “You didn’t tell me you’re such a lightweight.”

“Sorry,” he managed to say, his throat dry. “That was lame.”

“Nah,” Newt’s hand moved to Thomas’ cheek, caressing it gently. “Adorable, actually.”

“No, it was pretty lame,” Aris’ voice. “I mean, he just fell asleep after four drinks. Even Brenda can hold on more.”

“Don’t listen to him,” he saw Newt making a face somewhere in front of him, but he didn’t feel like moving, so he stayed focused on his husband instead. “He should be embarrassed he can drink the whole club under the table.”

“Ha,” Aris snorted, but sounded closer. “The keys then? I’m getting tired and don’t want to disturb you two lovebirds.”

Newt moved and then there was a touch on Thomas’ butt, how Newt pulled out the keys from his back pocket, knowing very well he had them there. There wasn’t anything meaningful in the contact and yet it made the butterflies in Thomas’ belly crazy again.

“You don’t need to lock the door, we will be right there as well,” he heard the blond saying and then footsteps were slowly getting quieter until he couldn’t hear anything, except of his and Newt’s breathing.

“You think you can walk?” Newt asked gently and Thomas moved his legs. They were cooperating; thankfully, even though he had a feeling he was going to need a support.

“I think so,” he mumbled. “I may need help though.”

“No worries,” Newt assured him and when Thomas tried to get up, he helped him on his feet and kept him steady until Thomas’ head stopped spinning. The chilly air helped and after several minutes of walking he felt getting more sober by each passing step. They kept silence through the whole way, although it wasn’t a bad one, and Thomas decided not to drink ever again like this.

 _I’ve just wanted to spend some time alone with you_ , he thought a little mournfully. It was getting difficult for him to ignore what he felt, and since the talk Newt and Brenda had, about _phases_ , he just couldn’t stop thinking of what Newt said. Because it felt like he wasn’t even making things up, it had a palpable tension to it, and the more Thomas took notice of it, the more Newt’s touches and words grew deeper, reaching his inner soul and pulling it out, like he was baited.

And hell, maybe he was, Newt said it was _a sophisticated trap_ , didn’t he? Because it felt like it. It was like Thomas fell slowly by picking up crumbles Newt left behind, by small steps and lots of patience, and now he reached the end and it built in him so much he couldn’t possibly contain it alone any longer.

It wasn’t only that Newt was nice to him in every aspect – and to his family as well, even though he didn’t need to – nope. It was Newt being Newt, a gentle, caring person with attractive voice and hypnotic eyes and who deserved somebody loving him and adoring him like if he was a fragile magic spell, ready to escape if treated badly.

“You did?” Newt’s voice stopped him mid step inside of the lift in the building. Surely he didn’t say it aloud, did he? “Spend some time alone with me?”¨

_Shit._

“Uh,” he hesitantly glanced at the blond. “Did I say it out loud?”

“Yeah,” Newt didn’t pamper him with merciful lies. “Loud and clear.”

“You sure?”

Instead of an answer Newt pushed him inside of the lift and pressed the button of their floor, his eyes intense. Thomas felt the alcohol inside of him burning, making him reckless, and when Newt reached for his shirt as if he wanted to grab him by it, Thomas smacked his hands away, grabbed him by his shoulders and spun him around. The lift shook a little with them after the impact but didn’t stop, and Thomas couldn’t really halt his actions either.

He noticed the wide eyes staring at him, and parted lips as if Newt wanted to say something, but then he was kissing them to prevent any words spilling out, and his hands slid up to the sides of Newt’s neck, then to his hair, grabbing a handful and angling him _just right_. There was so much tongue and the noises were driving him crazy, and when Newt moaned loudly into his mouth Thomas realized he had been pressing his knee between the blond’s legs and pressing up, and it almost stripped him of all the control he somehow still possessed. He couldn’t stop kissing him, even when he felt the lift stopping with an uncomfortable lurch and the door opened, and quite frankly he wouldn’t be able to – not when Newt was pulling him closer while biting his lips. When he felt a hand on his bare skin right under his shirt, he whimpered and slammed him harder against the wall, earning another delightful moan.

“You mean-,” Newt manged to say between kisses and his voice sounded rough and goddamn sexy, “-you can get like this without me knowing?”

“Well, what did you expect?” Thomas responded while dragging his teeth along Newt’s neck, earning a shudder. “A church boy?”

Newt chuckled, but then shook his head and kissed Thomas back.

“A blushing virgin, probably,” he said quietly. “This is not how the story goes though.”

“First come, first served.”

“We will see about coming,” Newt uttered with a smirk and before it reached Thomas’ brain, a dramatic sigh made them stop like a guillotine.

“How about you both _come_ inside the flat first?” Teresa’s voice behind them shattered the moment like an unmerciful hammer and Thomas seriously needed a new best friend.

Preferably right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetad!
> 
> Aaaand that's it.


	17. The Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “It’s fine,” Thomas assured him with a gentle hug. “I wouldn’t even set a foot in here otherwise, but the vulture party downstairs is leaving and they had been pestering me I killed you or something, so I thought I gotta use my necromancer skills and bring you back to life, so I could prove them wrong.”  
> “You say the sweetest things,” Newt chuckled, his voice raspy. “Wait, what do you mean you wouldn’t even set a foot here? How rude.”  
> “Well, not when you’re sleeping,” Thomas added with a smirk. “Attacking a sleeping person is bad.”  
> “Is that what they taught you at school?” Newt fidgeted slightly and then turned around so he could face Thomas. He had sleepy eyes and relaxed expression and Thomas felt his heart swelling into enormous proportions. “Because as far as I’m concerned, being woken up by somebody making love to you is actually pretty nice.”

The headache was the worst punishment Thomas could wake up with. His throat burned and his body felt heavy, but his head was definitely the worst – like somebody cracked his skull open. He remained lying down with no hope to get up anytime soon without spilling out his guts, and slowly came to where exactly he had been sleeping and what time it was. All windows were darkened by blinds so it was hard to tell until he glanced at the clock, realizing it was surprisingly early for the hour he crashed to sleep.

Well, _they_ crashed to sleep.

It took him another second to notice there had been arms curled possessively around his bare midsection and a warm body pressed to his back, with their legs intertwined and blanket almost lost in between them. It made the morning a lot better, although the headache remained, and Thomas breathed out comfortably and buried himself deeper into Newt’s calming presence.

They came home late, around 4 AM or so, and as much as Teresa decided to play their chaperone, it was still pretty awesome. They got a speech about making out in public places before she gave up on them, and then ended up in a bathroom together, with Newt pressed against the basin with Thomas kissing him insistently. He thought it was mainly alcohol that stripped him so successfully of all the shyness and self-control, but at least it let him keep the memories untouched and clear. He could perfectly recall how Newt’s body felt against his and what noises he made when he tried to mark his neck (emphasis on _tried_ because he couldn’t stay at one spot for too long when he had the whole feast the man presented available). The fact he didn’t know what exactly he was doing didn’t stop him in the slightest, it was more like operating on pure instinct, because he never did that before, never really _wanted_ like this. And Newt had been indulging him even though Thomas had to be a terrible kisser without proper practice, and too hasty with everything, but it seemed like it was enough for the blond, like it was perfect for him.

So they made out in the bathroom and Thomas came in his pants and Newt laughed at him for it, but it was fond and not mean at all. Thomas wasn’t sure how they managed to even leave the room without waking the whole house up, yet here they were, sleeping together in the bed like lovers would, and Thomas was _happy_.

His bladder wasn’t though, he realized mournfully when he tried to move a little, and with the worst case of unwillingness he disentangled and crept out of the bed and the room as quietly as he could. Newt didn’t look like it woke him up, so at least Thomas could say the mission was success.

“Well, well, well, the guy who can’t drink for shit woke up from the eternal slumber,” Aris’ voice welcomed him in the living room and Thomas immediately regretted he even left the warm cocoon of his nest. He and Brenda were already watching TV, sitting on the couch in their PJs, and both of them were watching him in a badly hidden amusement.

“Heard you’re an embarrassing case of a lightweight,” Brenda added to it with a wicked grin and sipped her tea. “You need to train hard.”

“I think I will pass,” Thomas uttered dryly, passing them without even slowing his pace down. He heard them laughing quietly and refused to react on it. It was enough he had to fight with a hard on when he entered the bathroom and remembered what he did there, and that simply didn’t leave any more room for other thoughts. Not for a while.

***

It was almost one in the afternoon and the whole family squad was packing up (finally) while badmouthing Thomas cooking (hey, it was edible, he couldn’t do much about the fact Newt was the one who always cooked and he was still asleep) and checking their flight with loud bickering.

“Did he die or something?” he heard Aris asking and then there was a pull on his arm. “Did you kill him and just waiting for us to leave so you can hide the body?”

“I may kill you and not wait a single second before throwing your body off the balcony,” Thomas growled at him with a scowl. “Let him sleep for fuck’s sake. We came home at four.”

“And sleep at five,” Teresa added with an eye roll. He was just glad she didn’t decide to go check on them in the bathroom as well, or it would probably her, whose body would need hiding.

“Well, but you’re up,” Aris pointed out like it meant everybody needed to have a loud family preventing him going back to sleep (because he wanted to, he really did, but when he got back from the bathroom Janson was already there as well and wanted to talk to him and suddenly it was nine in the morning and Teresa came downstairs all chatty, and they were hungry, so he had to make something, and it was impossible to go back to sleep after that). “So what’s the deal?”

“Stop talking,” Thomas uttered. “You’re killing the rest of my barely functional brain cells.”

It worked, since Aris really did shut up, but only because Janson took his place, asking for Newt as well.

“I mean, we’re leaving,” Janson said like he regretted it and Thomas prayed for him not to change his mind in the last second. “I’ve just wanted to say goodbye and thank him for letting us stay.”

“I’ll gladly convey the gratitude,” Thomas assured him with faked generosity, but Janson didn’t look like it convinced him. When Teresa added to the pile, he groaned and stomped upstairs to probably take a picture of Newt sleeping like a baby so they’d the hell up about it and let the poor guy rest.

Fine, it was almost one and everything, but it only meant Newt slept for eight hours like a normal human being and Thomas knew very well he _needed_ a proper sleep, because otherwise he was practically useless for the whole day. He spilled everything he drank, he would be able to burn tea if it was possible, he was tired and barely laughed and Thomas just wanted him to be happy and well rested before facing the group of vultures.

He opened the door as slowly as he can, of course earning the loudest creak in the history, and cursed mentally at it. The room was still bathing in shadows and Newt had been lying with his back towards the exit, his hair disarray and long legs holding the blanket between them like he was wrestling it to death. Thomas walked towards the bed silently and when Newt kept on breathing evenly and not making as single move, he climbed up and snuggled close to him just because he could.

“Hey, octopus,” suddenly Newt’s voice sliced the silence of the room and Thomas kissed the back of his neck, making the blond hum in appreciation. “What time is it?”

“One in the afternoon,” Thomas responded quietly. “Not so bad yet.”

“Ugh, mate,” Newt groaned and moved a little, but only so he could press against Thomas a little more. It was warm and comfortable and slightly arousing, because Thomas felt like teenager who could have sex twenty times a day (not to mention they didn’t even have sex yet, so there was that). “I don’t think I ever slept so long before.”

“It’s fine,” Thomas assured him with a gentle hug. “I wouldn’t even set a foot in here otherwise, but the vulture party downstairs is leaving and they had been pestering me I killed you or something, so I thought I gotta use my necromancer skills and bring you back to life, so I could prove them wrong.”

“You say the sweetest things,” Newt chuckled, his voice raspy. “Wait, what do you mean you wouldn’t even set a foot here? How rude.”

“Well, not when you’re sleeping,” Thomas added with a smirk. “Attacking a sleeping person is bad.”

“Is that what they taught you at school?” Newt fidgeted slightly and then turned around so he could face Thomas. He had sleepy eyes and relaxed expression and Thomas felt his heart swelling into enormous proportions. “Because as far as I’m concerned, being woken up by somebody making love to you is actually pretty nice.”

“Oh god,” Thomas groaned. “Please don’t talk about this, they expect me back soon and I can’t go downstairs with a hard-on.”

“It’s a normal male reaction to an outer stimuli, I don’t know what’s so bad about it,” Newt grinned slyly and Thomas thought he shouldn’t have been so surprised by the fact he felt a hand right between his legs the next moment. “Not to mention it’s already too late for you anyway.”

“I hate you,” Thomas grumbled and bit his lower lip to keep the moan in. That was completely unfair! He didn’t expect to be molested the first thing after waking Newt up, he would have prepared for it! Maybe. Somehow.

_Yeah, not at all._

“Too bad,” Newt cuddled closer and Thomas felt lips on his throat, leaving small kisses in its wake. ”I actually came to like you a lot.”

“You came?” Thomas couldn’t help himself; the remark from yesterday (or technically today) was still alive in his memory, and Newt bit down, making Thomas moan shamelessly and probably too loud. He expected Teresa to barge in any second, but it didn’t make him move away in the slightest.

“Not yet,” Newt replied in a low voice that struck Thomas a little close to home. “Want to help me with it?”

Janson was going to kill him.

***

“I already told you I’m sorry,” Thomas repeated for about tenth time during the drive to the airport, but Janson’s rant seemed to be endless anyway. Fine, it took them about half an hour to get back downstairs, and fine, Thomas was wearing a different shirt ( _thanks Brenda, for noticing and pointing it out, also sorry since the first one got dirty_ ), but hey – Newt was with him and he was well rested and not hangover at all (cheater) and offered them to take them to the airport. Janson refused, because there was still alcohol in Newt’s bloodstream, but he accepted the car offer nevertheless, only he was the one driving it. Thomas didn’t bother arguing with him over it, because it meant they were going to leave and he could hold his tongue for a while longer.

Although the rant was making it difficult. He was actually glad Newt in the end didn’t go with them, because if he listened to this any longer than Thomas had to by this point, he would probably rethought his so far positive opinion on Thomas’ uncle.

“No biggie, we’re glad you had fun,” Teresa patted his knee with a patronizing smile and he felt like biting her hand off would be too small of a punishment.

“And didn’t forget to wear pants,” Brenda added in a monotonous voice. She seemed more annoyed than usual and he was sure it connected to not being able to see Harriet anymore.

“Thank god for the pants,” Aris piped as well. “Was enough to see the hickeys on him the first thing in the morning.”

Yeah, fine, he slept shirtless, sue him.

“How about you mind your business and leave me and my _husband_ alone?” Thomas bit out unhappily and they laughed at him, because why not. He was so damn happy they were leaving it was probably illegal.

Their flight was thankfully on time as well and when Janson and Aris went for coffee since there was still about half an hour reserve before they could board it, Teresa pulled him sideways and put her hands on his shoulders like she was going to couch him for life.

“Oh no,” he voiced out. “ _The talk._ ”

“Listen, cowboy,” she started warningly and he decided to indulge her for now, since she looked she was ready to smack him. “Don’t fuck this up.”

“What, the talk?” he raised an eyebrow and she squeezed his shoulders tighter. “That kinda hurts.”

“It should,” she mumbled. “I mean you and him. Don’t fuck it up, Tom. Don’t you dare.”

“Why would I fuck it up?” he stared at her in disbelief. “And why are you even telling me this? _You_ were against it!”

“We talked about this already,” she rolled her eyes at him. “Look. I was wrong, Newt is cool. But I think he’s vulnerable as well and as much as I like you, I feel like I could neuter you if you did something bad to him.”

“Why would I do something bad to him?” he grumbled in dissatisfaction. “If you didn’t notice I-,”

“Yeah, you’re into him, I _did_ notice,” she huffed and her grip finally eased off. “And I even get why. I mean, it’s hard not to like him, and since you’re close to him, with all that touching fan service you did it was a wonder you didn’t fell for it sooner.”

“Thank you for an explanation, Dr. Freud,” he crossed his arms on his chest. He had no idea what was her deal and his mood only dropped lower, which was after Janson’s rant quite surprising. He just wanted to go back home and cuddle with his husband, was it too much to ask?

“I also know you tend to get bored of things soon,” she let go completely and took a step further. “And I feel like if you did it with him, it would end badly.”

“Teresa, you’re not making any sense.”

“What I mean is that this guy is fragile,” she said quietly. “That’s all.”

“Newt?” he made a face at her. “Fragile? Sure.”

Newt was a strong person. He was smart; he knew how to deal with people, the good ones and the bad ones, and he never let anybody badmouth him. He stood his ground and had a good heart and Thomas seriously didn’t understand what she was hinting at.

She opened her mouth like she wanted to say something more, but then shook her head and apparently gave up.

“Just make him happy,” she concluded it with a small smile. “And make yourself happy along with him. Yeah?”

It felt like she knew something, but then again – how could she? She was barely alone with Newt, Brenda talked to him much more than she did. Or maybe she knew from Brenda?

“I don’t like you being this shady,” he pointed out with a frown.

“I don’t like being this shady either,” she patted his cheek. “Tell hi and thanks to him.”

Before Thomas could ask her more, Aris and Janson came back and the plane started with the boarding. They said their goodbyes and Thomas watched them until he lost a sight of them in the crowd.

Even though they were finally gone, he felt like the heavy weight of responsibility on his shoulders multiplied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetad!
> 
> Ugh, I thought I wouldn't be able to finish this today. Hallelujah, I'm so damn tired T^T


	18. Damn Fine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You apparently never heard somebody being loud before,” he told him sweetly. “One day with my mates would make you go apologize to your family for thinking this.”  
> “I like that,” Thomas said and Newt raised an eyebrow.  
> “Them being loud?”  
> “How you call them mates,” he explained with a smile. “It’s nice.”

When Thomas got back home (and it was nice to call the place _home_ , because somehow it became dear to him – much more than the household he lived in the whole life) he found Newt napping on the sofa with one hand hanging down, touching the floor. He wondered if Newt had been glad they left as well or if he didn’t really mind? Because he acted like it was fine – and Thomas thought it was probably thanks to his friends who did that often as well – but then again they weren’t people he was too familiar with, so two days of them hogging the flat while being loud must have put a strain on him somehow.

It sure did on Thomas, and he knew them all his life.

He walked towards the sofa in a languid pace and sat carefully near Newt’s feet, watching his sleeping form with a small smile. It was a pretty wild fact he actually fell for this guy – if somebody told him the day they were getting married, he would think they were crazy. No way he would fancy a guy, right? No way would he want to stay with him longer than the mandatory one year limit. No way would he prefer him over cute girls.

Yet here he was, stupidly in love, appreciating the curve of Newt’s back, the warm, honey colour of his hair, the slim hips and cute face, and even more the kindness that wasn’t shown, the sense of humour and cleverness, and mainly that he was able to survive his family while becoming their favourite.

Maybe one day Ava would actually come in terms with it as well? As much as others tried to convince him her main problem was the wedding being secret, he just _knew_ the hardest of it all was to respect Thomas did it against her will. It was definitely going to take lots of time before she would realize he wasn’t going to bend to her will anymore, and neither would Newt.

“Whacha thinking about?” a sleepy voice interrupted him from his thoughts and Thomas shook off the annoying thoughts. “You looked so serious.”

“Eh, family business,” Thomas shrugged and gently touched Newt’s leg, making the blond squirm a little before settling against him more comfortably. “I’m just glad they’re finally gone.”

“Was just two days,” Newt mumbled. “Could have been worse.”

“Don’t jinx it,” Thomas warned him, because there was still a possibility of having them here tomorrow again, because why the hell not. Would be enough if the cavalry whined a little and Janson would be able to turn the whole plane if he could. “You’re a saint though. Indulging them like this without a single complain.”

“Why would I complain?” Newt opposed and flopped on his back. One of his feet started nudging Thomas’ back and the other one he lazily laid on Thomas’ lap like he demanded a massage. “They were fine.”

“Loud,” Thomas added and Newt smirked.

“You apparently never heard somebody being _loud_ before,” he told him sweetly. “One day with my mates would make you go apologize to your family for thinking this.”

“I like that,” Thomas said and Newt raised an eyebrow.

“Them being loud?”

“How you call them _mates_ ,” he explained with a smile. “It’s nice.”

Newt grinned and dragged himself up to a sitting position, leaving one of his legs on Thomas’ lap and one around him like in a trap. Thomas immediately circled his arms around his thin frame  and let out a content sigh, because this was exactly he craved so much – the calm, silence, Newt close to him, nobody asking stupid questions and having remarks about them being _domestic_.

Just them.

“I must say,” Newt suddenly piped, leaning into him comfortably. “That I was worried for a while there.”

“Worried?” Thomas asked in confusion. “Did Brenda say something? Or Teresa?”

Because Teresa kept on hinting weird stuff and he couldn’t put a finger on it. Maybe Newt really did talk with Brenda about something and Teresa found out? But then again what would it be, right? What would Newt talk about with a bored teenager without borders and that would be so damn shady?

“No?” Newt glanced up, looking confused as well. “Should they?”

“No,” Thomas quickly shook his head. “Was just the first thing that came to my mind. They sometimes know how to leave an impression.”

“Aww, but they were all good,” Newt assured him with a smile. “Even Grumpy bear was fine, it surprised me.”

“Yeah, she grew fond of you as well,” Thomas commented with a sigh. “Told me if I hurt you I’m going to pay.”

“Wow, I didn’t know she cared,” Newt snorted and Thomas chuckled. It was a weird thing, when he thought about it – Teresa had been pretty antagonistic at first and now she would fight for Newt if needed, how did it even happen? Not that Thomas was _that_ surprised, not liking Newt was almost impossible when you spent time with him, and he was glad she saw that as well. The amount of friends Newt had was already proof enough.

“Told you she’s a mother hen,” Thomas pointed out. “Doesn’t matter towards whom.”

“I’m flattered,” Newt returned back into his snuggling position and let out a small sigh.

“So what were you worried about?” Thomas inquired, even though he wasn’t sure he wanted to know. He didn’t want Newt to be worried about anything, and if Thomas made him feel he should have by something he had or hadn’t done, than it was bad already.

“Well,” the blond drawled hesitantly. “It all happened… um. It all was when they were here and now when they’re gone I wasn’t sure anymore.”

“You’re not really making any sense,” Thomas’ brows furrowed. “What happened?”

“Us?” Newt’s voice sounded small all of sudden, like he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to talk about it. “It all started with them and… Teresa is fine, she knows, but the rest didn’t and I thought maybe when they’re gone, we would stop pretending.”

_Oh god._

“No,” he immediately shot out, maybe too urgently, since Newt flinched a little. “The timing was weird, I admit, but _no_.”

“No,” Newt repeated quietly. Thomas didn’t know what to make out of his expression, it was so damn vague and he couldn’t even guess what the blond was thinking.

“I mean,” Thomas panicked a little. “Unless you want it to stop? Because I don’t want to force you into anything and it’s fine if you wouldn’t want to.”

“It’s fine?” Newt repeated and sat up straight again, watching Thomas a little curiously. “You wouldn’t mind going back to being roommates?”

_Oh no. He’s going to ask for it._

Thomas minded so much it was almost illegal. But if Newt only played his part and wanted to stop now, forcing him into this would _suck_ and he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He just didn’t know how he would exactly deal with it, that for sure.

“If… that’s what you want?” he tried hesitantly and it was weird, because he thought Newt was of the same mind set and suddenly he just _didn’t know_. Maybe it was just him all this time?

Newt stared at him for a while and Thomas almost felt like he was breaking him down to splits and pieces of his personality, analysing him, testing the best approach and it was strange to be under such scrutiny and not knowing how it would end up.

”It’s not what I want,” he finally said and glanced down at their bodies touching easily. “I didn’t mean to give such vibe either.”

 _Oh thank god_.

“You didn’t,” Thomas assured him quickly. “It’s just that you asked, I guess I panicked?”

“I see,” the blond nodded, but the unsure expression stayed and suddenly Thomas understood.

Fragile, Teresa said. He saw it now. There were small hints, probably, along the way. Newt being single because _he cared too much about everything_ or _chickening out_ and it all followed an obvious pattern – he was afraid of getting hurt. It must have been it, Thomas was almost 100 % sure of it, and it broke his heart a little.

Out of all people Newt could decide to try it with, it had to be a clueless, unexperienced college student who had family issues and could barely flirt to save his life. He deserved so much more, so much better, and yet Thomas decided to be selfish and _keep_ all of this guy to himself as long as he could.

“Hey,” Thomas pulled at the strings of Newt’s hair slightly, trying to lighten up the mood. “You can’t chicken out of this anymore. We’re married.”

”Damn,” the blond huffed in a faked dissatisfaction. “There goes my freedom.”

“Yep, not giving you up even if you begged me to do it,” Thomas added with a grin. “You’re stuck with me.”

“What a nightmare!” Newt added dramatically and when Thomas started to laugh, Newt wrestled him to a lying position and propped above him like a predator.

“You okay with this then,” he said as if he was making sure in all seriousness and Thomas brushed his fingers against Newt’s chest with a low hum.

“I’m very okay with this,” he agreed quietly. “Are you okay with me?”

“Weeell…”

“Oi.”

“I guess you pass,” Newt grinned at him cheekily. “There are some flattering features you have after all.”

“Like my eyes, hm?” Thomas teased him with a smirk and Newt blinked, apparently taken back.

“Did I tell you?” he asked in surprise.

“That you like my eyes?” Thomas kept the amused expression up and Newt nodded, seemingly very confused.

“Because I don’t remember telling you,” he explained. “I mean, yes, I do like your eyes, but I always thought it’s such a corny compliment I didn’t think it was wise to say… was it yesterday? I didn’t think I was _that_ drunk.“

„Nope,“ Thomas shrugged. “I’ve just learned your mind reading tricks.”

Newt’s eyes narrowed suspiciously and Thomas found it hilarious. He could tell him he overheard him speaking about it with Brenda, but where was the fun in that? Even he could have his secrets.

“Is that so,” the blond commented. “So what am I thinking now?”

“Hmm,” Thomas tilted his head to the side and touched Newt’s forehead tenderly. “Probably how to steal the right side of the bed from me.”

“The right side… _mate_ ,” okay, so Thomas probably deserved that eye roll. “You can have whatever side of the bed you want, as long as you share it with me.”

“ _That_ sounded corny,” Thomas pointed out with a chuckle.

“I’m bad at this,” Newt mumbled almost apologetically. “I should have warned you. My sweet talk is disastrous.”

“Your sweet talk is fine,” Thomas circled his arms around Newt’s torso and pulled him down, until the blond actually crashed flatly onto him with an _oof_. “You’re fine.”

“Just fine?”

“Damn fine,” Thomas added happily. “So damn fine.”

“If you say so, church boy,” Newt struck back with a laugh and pulled himself higher, so he could brush their lips together. “So what are you going to do now? You wanted to be alone with me, as far as I recall.”

“Yes, I did,” Thomas agreed and tried to chase Newt’s lips with his own, but the blond eluded him mischievously. “What, playing hard to get?”

“I’m always hard to get,” Newt shot back with a grin. “What kind of a girl do you think I am?”

“No girl, that for sure,” Thomas mumbled and moved his leg that was conveniently right between Newt’s legs, and pressed up, earning a surprised moan. He was definitely _interested_ , Thomas could tell, and it was _perfect_.

“Sneaky,” Newt only uttered before crushing their mouths together and Thomas immediately parted his lips. It was something more now, fully sober, not sleepy, not pressured, like everything was clearer and more surreal, and even though Thomas was painfully sure he sucked at kissing, he still cupped the sides of Newt’s face to lead it, to slide his tongue inside of Newt’s mouth, searching and probing and tasting. And Newt complied, he let him do whatever he wanted, and it was the hottest thing Thomas knew.

“You told the story all wrong,” he said when they parted slowly and Newt hummed, planting small kisses here and there all over Thomas’ face.

“Did I now.”

“ _I_ am the one who is going to sex you up,” Thomas said leisurely. “You so lied to my poor cousin.”

“Oho,” Newt stared at him in amusement. “We will see about that, Tommy. We will see.”

Thomas was sure he was ready for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetad!


	19. Coherence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’ll catch it for you,” the blond nibbled his ear teasingly. ”But under one condition.”  
> “You’re the cause of it and now you want to threaten me with conditions?” Thomas pressed them even closer together and Newt moaned and his hips bucked forward.   
> “I have to get what I can,” came a reply, but Newt’s voice trembled slightly and his breath was hitching deliciously in the back of his throat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of an M rating, maybe (not really, but just for the record)

Losing the whole weekend sucked a big time, especially now when Thomas craved to spend as much time with Newt as possible. But since Sunday ruled the calendar and Newt had to go to work the next day, Thomas’ vision of making the most of the fact they were alone fell apart with Monday breathing on their necks.

And ironically it was also Thomas who acknowledged it, and Thomas who pushed Newt to go sleep early, and also Thomas who really regretted his stupid choices. The point was – they made out on the couch (brilliantly, that for sure) but didn’t get any further and the next thing Thomas knew he was cuddling his husband in the bed while mauling over the fact he basically cock blocked himself.

Atop all of these things he couldn’t bring himself to sleep either. There was this warm, enticing presence of Newt pressed against him and Thomas couldn’t do a thing, and also couldn’t even sleep it off, like his brain just refused to offer any relief.

_I’m getting mad over here._

He took a deep breath and then let it out slowly. Maybe counting sheep would help? Or music. But he had his headphones in the back pocket of his jeans _downstairs_ and that would mean leave the bed and probably wake Newt up in the process.

 _Nope_.

He tried to move slowly to his side, but Newt used his arm as his pillow and any necessary movement was a risk. Stupid Monday! If he didn’t feel bad for keeping the blond up when he knew he had to work tomorrow, they definitely wouldn’t be sleeping right now.

Or trying to, in his case.

“Can’t sleep?” Newt’s voice suddenly sliced the silence and Thomas tensed.

_Fuck it. I woke him up._

“Did I wake you?” he asked unhappily and Newt tossed a little, until he was facing Thomas, lying on his side while shaking his head.

“I can’t really sleep either,” he admitted. “It sucks.”

“Yeah,” Thomas turned on his side as well, facing the blond with half lidded eyes. It was dark in the room, but he could still see him surprisingly clearly – how his lips were slightly parted, and his hair was falling into his eyes, and he really couldn’t help himself but to at least brush his knuckles against his cheek.

Newt’s expression didn’t really change, he kept on watching him quietly, and when Thomas retracted his hand, he let out a small sigh.

“Just for the record,” he said in a raspy voice. “I didn’t lie.”

“Lie?” Thomas raised an eyebrow. Could Newt actually be sleep talking rather than being awake?

“To Brenda,” the blond responded, not making it much clearer. “Just saying.”

“I don’t get it,” Thomas blinked in confusion. “Lie about wh-mfffph!”

Sometimes Newt seriously tricked others by appearance – Thomas would never expect him to be so damn fast and strong, but suddenly he was on his back with the blond sitting on his thighs and raiding his mouth in a mind blowing kiss and Thomas was too shocked to actually react.

_Oh god. Lying to Brenda, of course._

He stopped caring about the fact it was midnight or maybe even later. He stopped trying to be the good guy who thought of a good rest of his husband. Nope, not when Newt was rolling his hips down, making Thomas moan into his mouth, and pulling at his shirt like he wanted to get it off, but at the same time refusing to break the French lesson he started.

“As much as I appreciate you being thoughtful, Tommy,” he whispered into his lips and his position was just so damn _perfect_ Thomas barely apprehended what he was saying for how much of a delicious friction he was getting. “I’m a little impatient and really want you inside me.”

An especially hard roll made Thomas groan he had almost seen stars and his hips bucked up in a response, making Newt grin in the middle of the kiss and then allowing a fraction of a second for them to separate, so he could get rid of Thomas’ shirt. The words he said were traveling into the right brain’s places slowly, and Newt managed to drag his lips down Thomas’ chin and his throat in the meantime, making the butterflies in his belly change into a swarm of bees that wanted out. It was almost painful, but in a pleasurable way, and when Newt sat back up to get rid of his own shirt, Thomas realized what he just said and gulped down heavily, his eyes wide as saucers.

Newt wanted him like that? He was willing to be his without a single fight for dominance? Was he fucking dreaming?

“Hey, church boy,” Newt smirked at him from his upper position like he was devil himself and Thomas decided he never saw anybody being this sexy in his whole damn life. “You gonna stare the whole night or are you gonna fulfil the story with me?”

“I’m trying to find my coherence again, thank you very much,” he blurted out, but at least his hands knew what to do and slid up over Newt’s thighs to his waist. Of course he had seen him shirtless before, Newt didn’t really have much of shame, but this was so _different_ , so intimate and hot, and he was never allowed to touch before and now he simply didn’t know _where_ to start.

“You sound coherent enough to me,” Newt offered cheekily and another hard roll of his hips made Thomas whimper. “Among other things.”

“You do r-realize,” Thomas tried to catch the slowly disappearing thread of his thoughts, but it was really difficult with Newt being so damn suave. His lower part of the body was already acting like it had mind of his own and Thomas was overwhelmed like a ton of snow fell on him, burying him alive. There was so much amazing sensations he thought it was going to fry his brain soon. “You…”

“I do realize you should stop talking,” Newt chuckled and lowered himself back down, resuming his kissing on Thomas’ neck, then lower on his collarbones and his chest. “You’re making no sense whatsoever.”

“I meant,” Thomas breathed out, but it came more like a broken moan. “I n-never did this before. I don’t want…”

“You don’t want?” Newt raised his head in a question and Thomas took a shaky breath. His heart was beating like crazy it almost hurt against his ribcage and there was so much pressure everywhere he thought he was going to explode.

“To disappoint…?” he managed to say, even though his brain was like scrambled eggs ready to be served. He could barely think of anything else than Newt, how his skin was hot on touch and his chest was raising and falling, and how his lips felt on his body. “I never…”

“God, you’re so cute I feel like this is going to be over just by looking at you,” Newt grumbled and it was strange, it sounded like he was angry, but his touches and kisses were loving and sweet and Thomas was shaking like an expensive dog under his hands. “It’s fine, Tommy.”

“It is?” Thomas gulped down and he found himself pulling on Newt’s underwear almost like his hands were doing whatever they wanted, but if it meant getting Newt out from the rest of his clothing, then he had to agree.

“You know,” Newt leaned back in and brushed their lips together. His hips rose up so Thomas could get the underwear off and the sole thought of having the blond naked on his lap almost threw him over the edge. “You’re just giving me an immense power over you?”

“You always had power over me,” Thomas responded breathlessly and did the same for Newt when he pulled at his underwear. The shaking got stronger, but this time it was anticipation and excitement he barely contained.

If he was in the coherent state of mind, he would definitely agree with that statement. Newt always had power over him, from the first moment they met until now, in the bed, touching and kissing each other, slowly changing from friends to lovers. When he first laid his eyes on Newt in Las Vegas, he found him _captivating_ , even though his anger made him turn the blind to it. But it was inevitable, they gravitated towards each other without a single hiccup and he wondered why he ever fought it before. But he followed, he always did, he always listened, maybe even faster for two strangers, and yet here they were, loving, craving, obsessing.

“You talk so sweet,” Newt smiled and Thomas literally howled when there was a contact of their bare skin against each other and he could _feel_ how much excited Newt had been alongside with him.

“Newt-.”

“Being your first though,” a long lick from Thomas’ belly button up made his body quiver. “I’m going to train you thoroughly. I’ll teach you what I like and learn what makes you tick in return.”

His voice was rough and darkened and Thomas loved it to bits. He never heard him like this anymore. He had never seen him this hungry looking and seducing, like he was a completely different person from the normally cheerful Newt he lived with. Like he was hiding this side of him so carefully Thomas almost felt awed he was allowed to see.

“You want me to?”

In retrospect it was a reasonably innocent question, maybe just part of the sweet talk Newt decided to use, but it was like he flipped a switch in Thomas with it, like it clicked just right for Thomas to wake up from the haze of admiration and overwhelming sensations.

Newt yelped in surprise when he flipped them over and trapped the blond under him, and suddenly it wasn’t only him breathing hard in expectation, but also Newt with his legs circling Thomas’ hips, urging him closer.

“You never cease to amaze me,” the blond cooed, and his voice sounded so loving Thomas felt his body growing weak over it. “I always fall for that innocent boy act and look at me now.”

“I’m _looking_ ,” Thomas informed him hungrily. “ _Fucking hell_ , I think my heart is going to run away soon.”

Newt chuckled and pulled himself up by Thomas’ shoulders, circling his arms around his neck. There was so much _contact_ from upper to lower regions it almost short-circuited Thomas’ brain. He was so hard it almost hurt and Newt was pretty much the same, and _fuck Monday, I need this._

“I’ll catch it for you,” the blond nibbled his ear teasingly. ”But under one condition.”

“You’re the cause of it and now you want to threaten me with conditions?” Thomas pressed them even closer together and Newt moaned and his hips bucked forward.

“I have to get what I can,” came a reply, but Newt’s voice trembled slightly and his breath was hitching deliciously in the back of his throat.

“What’s the condition then?” Thomas’ hands slid down to grab a handful of Newt’s butt and the blond yelped again. It was a sly move and Newt punished him with a bite on the crook of his neck, but it only fuelled him further.

“I get to keep it,” Newt whispered to his ear. “Forever.”

“You _are_ a devil, aren’t you,” Thomas commented, but his body shook and mind threatened to turn completely blank for a moment.

Asking for his heart. That guy was so damn cliché Thomas couldn’t help but loving him.

“I’m on vacation,” Newt returned the banter, but it was breathless and weak. “F-fuck, Tommy, stop with the teasing, or I swear…”

“Then teach me,” Thomas ordered him, making Newt whimper a little. “Teach me _everything_.”

And so he did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetad!
> 
> Fever-fuelled chapter xD I hope it make at least some sense to you, since today nothing does to me :D
> 
> Also: The weekend is probably going to be chapter-less again, but I should be back on Monday with the regular schedule ^^


	20. Thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Now that’s motivation,” Newt pushed the plate away with a smirk. “Not because you want to, but because I’ll eat in the morning, makes me feel loved.”  
> “Oh you’re loved, alright,” Thomas walked towards the blond and put his hands on his shoulders, squeezing a little. “And in case you forgot, feel free to go look in the mirror, while naked.”  
> “Kinky.”

“Noooooo…”

For a moment Thomas wasn’t sure if it was him or Newt who reacted that way, but when he opened his mouth to say something and his voice came out all raspy, he realized it was the blond – along with hiding his head under the pillow and everything. At least Thomas had the decency to switch the alarm clock off, albeit with similar unhappy glare at the time – 7 AM, Monday, time to work.

“If somebody asked how a responsible adult looks like, then I’d say _definitely not like me_ ,” he heard Newt mumbling under the pillow with so much remorse he would maybe even felt bad for keeping them both awake for so long if Newt in a fraction of second didn’t pull him back down towards him and buried his face in his chest.

“Responsibility is overrated,” he cradled him with a smile and earned a satisfied sigh. “How tired are you?”

“Tired?” Newt repeated with faked surprise. “Who’s tired? I’m non-functional.”

“Oh,” Thomas contemplated it a little, then kissed the top of Newt’s head. “Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it, it was me who taunted you,” Newt uttered dryly and then untangled and sat up, making Thomas cringe a little.

 _Damn_ , his body was basically _covered_ with love marks, what the hell was Thomas thinking?

Oh wait, he wasn’t thinking at all, might be the case.

“I, um…” he touched Newt’s arm apologetically, “think you should wear something with long sleeves today. Or… this week.”

Newt raised an eyebrow, but when he looked at the state of his skin, he groaned and fell back into the pillows. Although not even that could make Thomas guilty about it – it was, after all, with Newt’s consent. Not to mention he didn’t come out of it clean neither, so they were even.

“You’re officially no longer a church boy,” the blond said. “And I suspect you probably never were, judging from the night performance.”

“I can’t believe you doubt my innocence,” Thomas pinched his hip teasingly and Newt batted his hand away with a snort.

“Oh no, don’t get me wrong, not doubting that at all,” he pointed at him as if in warning. “But the church definitely did not have power over you.”

“Would be difficult with a devil in the same bed,” Thomas countered and it made Newt laugh so hard he almost fell off the bed.

***

If Thomas ever got afraid the morning after would be awkward, today was _not_ the case at all. Sure, Newt complained several times about the marks, but it was enough when Thomas pointed at his own body, being almost in the same state, and the blond admitted defeat.

The breakfast and coffee making were much better than usually though, with Newt being unusually handsy (not that he wasn’t before, but this contained small kisses on Thomas’ naked shoulder, or the touches that landed on the butt, and those small gestures were making him a little lightheaded from the happiness). Neither of them really mentioned the sex itself, not by addressing it directly, but the atmosphere changed accordingly of what happened and Thomas was kind of glad his family decided to visit _before_ it happened, because he would never live it down otherwise.

Something definitely changed between them, he mused. Nothing drastic and nothing bad, but it was like the veil that separated them got lifted or they discovered a different angle they never seen the other at before – at least for Thomas it felt that way. Everything turned to be more intimate, more personal – suddenly Newt’s kindness grew deeper, more complex, his personality became clearer and easier comprehensible, and Thomas found himself able to know what to expect from him – and that wasn’t there anymore.

It was funny, really, but saying _it was just sex_ simply didn’t seem right. It connected them, somehow, as lame as it sounded, and Newt became something more. Something bigger.

_Mine._

“As I see it, I need to sex you up every night, so you’d actually eat in the morning,” Thomas commented when Newt basically devoured his breakfast, even though usually he took few bites and left it. He was sitting at the kitchen table with coffee in his hand and an empty plate in front of him, and looked positively satisfied.

“Now that’s motivation,” Newt pushed the plate away with a smirk. “Not because you want to, but because I’ll eat in the morning, makes me feel loved.”

“Oh you’re loved, alright,” Thomas walked towards the blond and put his hands on his shoulders, squeezing a little. “And in case you forgot, feel free to go look in the mirror, while naked.”

“Kinky.”

Thomas grinned and leaned down to kiss Newt on the head, earning a hum.

“I do love you though,” he whispered to his hair. “Just so you know.”

“Hell yes, why else would you marry me?” Newt responded with a dramatic voice and Thomas decided there was no way to talk to him a serious manner this morning, especially when he started to laugh after.

But he didn’t care. Seeing him happy was enough for him.

***

“How about you come with me?”

“To the clinic?” Thomas raised an eyebrow when he was following Newt through the hallway to the main door and the blond nodded. “Wouldn’t I be a bother?”

“To whom?” Newt stopped at the door and smiled at him. “It’s all good, as long as you won’t try and play a nurse.”

“I can do that?”

“Well, if you wear the nurse dress, sure,” Newt grinned and checked the time on his watch. He was already late, Thomas knew, but it didn’t bother him at all it seemed. Especially since they had a long French lesson just few minutes ago that ate away a lot longer than a normal kissing would, probably. But who was Thomas to judge, he was the one initiating it.

“Dunno if they have my size,” he countered back and Newt reached for his hand, squeezing it gently. It was a gentle gesture, loving even, and Thomas seriously couldn’t put a finger on why the hell was this precious gem single. He didn’t look like somebody who would chicken out on a person he fancied, not by a long shot. Could he be different when dating Alby? How long ago was it anyway? It felt recent, somehow, from how Alby acted and everything, but on the other hand maybe it had been few years back, making Newt change his approach to relationship life as well?

And again, why didn’t he try it with Alby again? Or was the other guy against it at that point? Or did Newt decide it was not worth another shot?

“You don’t need to, if you don’t wanna, of course,” Newt’s voice interrupted his thoughts and he quickly returned back to present, with his husband looking at him curiously. “Was just a thought.”

“No no,” he quickly shook his head. “Just give me a sec. Will change and we can go.”

“Mkay,” the grip on Thomas’ hand disappeared and Newt leaned against the door and made a shooing gesture at him. “Don’t wear anything too sexy, you may disturb the patients.”

“Oh well, will leave bikini home…”

The sound of Newt’s laughter was hearable all the way to the second floor.

***

The clinic wasn’t as small as Thomas thought it would be, since it was private and everything. It had five floors and reasonably big area around it, and Thomas felt a little overwhelmed by it. He never spent a day in hospital, if you didn’t count when he got born, and the sudden presence there made him stare at everything and everyone.

Or maybe it was also because everybody greeted Newt so happily like he was a long lost cousin or something, and Thomas could almost feel the questioning stares that followed him all the way through the corridors.

“Do they know who I am?” he whispered towards Newt when another pair of nurses greeted them and _giggled_. It was probably the only possible explanation – they weren’t touching with Newt anyhow like they usually did, and he would swore nothing could possibly give them away like that.

“Do you feel mistreated?” Newt glanced at him in amusement. “Or it just sounded like you’re royalty and they should bow to you?”

“Very funny,” Thomas made a face at him, but it only made him laugh. “I meant if they knew I’m your husband.”

“Oh that,” Newt looked at his own ring and let out a faked sigh of exasperation. “Yep. They know, alright. I had to change the personal file when we got married, which, naturally, roused suspicion and questions, which led to interrogation and I had to spill the beans.”

“I don’t blame you,” Thomas chuckled. He wasn’t mad or anything, maybe just surprised, but since nothing negative fell their way, he considered it a plus point. “No obstacles policy works everywhere, eh?”

“Oh yeah, Minho’s reach is infinite,” Newt nodded with a smile and then pointed at the door they were slowly approaching. “Going to change. It may be cramped, would you mind waiting here?”

“No problem,” Thomas shrugged and stopped at the spot. Newt made few more steps, then turned around, kissed Thomas on lips and disappeared in the locker room.

Seriously, that guy was amazing and Thomas was still waiting for a harsh waking up to reality. It was like they were waiting for each other all these years, like they just couldn’t settle with anybody else, and that was sort of an overwhelming thought.

Of course, Thomas didn’t believe in _fate_ or any other possible nonsense, but this really felt like a fairy tale conclusion. Which was probably also a reason why such thought had to be punished in another upcoming minute, when the door to another room in the hallway opened and Alby walked out in white garbs and stoic look on his face.

_Wait, he works in here too? With Newt?_

It was a question of several seconds before Alby noticed him standing awkwardly just few meters away from him, and he visibly stiffened for a moment, before the mask of neutrality resumed its place again. Thomas nodded to him – it felt like greeting him verbally would be weird – and Alby stared at him, and then nodded back.

“Newt arrived?” he broke the silence and Thomas cleared his throat before answering with an unsure _yes_. “Alright. Tell him I need to speak to him and send him after me. He knows the place.”

With that he turned at the opposite direction than Thomas was standing at and left like a silent wave.

Newt didn’t say they worked at the same clinic. Hell, they apparently seen each other every day, so why the hell was Alby so cold when they were at Newt’s place with the rest of their friends? Or were they on non-speaking terms even here?

But he just told Thomas he wanted to speak to Newt, so that probably wasn’t the case.

“What are you spacing out for?” Newt’s voice interrupted him and he flinched and took a step back, earning a raised eyebrow. Newt was in the same white garbs as Alby had been, so there was really no doubt. “You okay?”

“Yeah, sorry,” he quickly nodded, but the questions didn’t disappear. What was between them, honestly? And why the hell was Thomas so damn worked up about it? If they shared a job, it didn’t mean they needed to be friendly, did it?

But Newt was everything but a grudge-holding person, so why wouldn’t they, right?

“Alby wants to speak with you,” he blurted out, the jealousy inside of him rising to dangerous levels. He was just glad it didn’t flood his voice; it was pathetic enough as it was now.

“Oh?” if Newt was surprised they met here, he didn’t show it. “Cool, thanks. Lemme show you the nursery room? Just for shit and giggles, girls want to meet you.”

_So you can go after Alby. You know the place._

_Shit, Thomas, shut the fuck up and DEAL._

He took a shuddering breath and forced up a smile.

“Yeah, sure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetad!
> 
> I managed to finish the chapter in a reasonably normal hour \o/


	21. Jealousy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Newt…” he took a deep breath, but nothing really came.  
> “Yeah, that’s my name, good job for remembering it after screaming it last night over and over again.”  
> “Oh god,” Thomas hid his face in his hands, the familiar hotness reaching up his cheeks. What a low blow to play the sex card – it was like flipping a switch in Thomas and his brain got flooded with memories of how amazing it felt, how he couldn’t get enough, how Newt taught him what he liked and praised Thomas for doing it just right, and really, why the hell was he thinking of it now?!

“Newt, goddammit, this is why we can’t have nice things!”

Thomas expected about everything when he got introduced to the bunch of nurses in the room, but this definitely exceeded it. One of them, a long haired woman with red lips and long eyelashes, just simply shot it out like a cannonball and Thomas stood next to his husband in an utter confusion. Of course Newt’s laughter didn’t really help either – was it an inside joke?

“And why is that, honey?” the blond grinned at her and she pointed at Thomas like he was a bomb ready to explode.

“All the pretty guys are gays! You just couldn’t leave this one to a girl, could you,” she commented sternly and Thomas wasn’t sure if she had been joking or not (he hoped she was, but he still snorted because he couldn’t help himself).

“No can do,” Newt shrugged and nuzzled Thomas’ cheek like an affectionate cat. “I’m not giving him to anybody.”

Sure, Newt was cheesy and corny when it came down to this, but Thomas couldn’t say it didn’t make him feel warm and fuzzy inside despite that. Before this whole thing of them getting officially together happened, Thomas would _never_ believe Newt was capable of acting like this, and it was funny, yet lovable.

“That would be illegal anyway,” he responded with a chuckle. “And I’d just come back.”

“You should get him a dog tag, in that case,” another nurse commented with a bark of laughter. “So they’d return him to the rightful owner.”

“Oh, that’s just kinky,” Newt grinned at her and then his hand slid down to Thomas’ butt, pinching him there shortly. “Going to get Alby, would you stay here?”

_Oh yeah. Alby._

Thomas couldn’t deny it stung like a bitch, being reminded of it from Newt alone, but he forced himself to nod anyway and even threw in a small smile to make it more believable.

“You know any prayers?” Newt asked with a tilt of his head and Thomas blinked in confusion.

“I’m sorry?”

“Cuz in case they bother you too much just chant some, shower them with holy water and throw a crucifix at them. It works. Well, anything works if you throw it hard enough.”

“Rude,” the red lipped nurse grumbled, but Newt only smiled sweetly at her, kissed Thomas on his cheek and left the room with a wave.

Thomas didn’t know why he felt so uneasy about the whole thing. It wasn’t like they had anything between each other anymore, was it? Newt and Alby. It was a dead end, just a colleague relationship, nothing more.

But he still couldn’t shake the ugly feeling of jealousy that crept on him without warning – and it was seriously so uncalled for he even felt guilty for it. But hey, he never fell in love before; he simply didn’t know _how_ to handle this sudden possessiveness and need of having somebody only for himself. He knew all the lame talk about trust and everything, but it was easier said than done. He did trust Newt in this, but the green eyed monster simply did not.

“I haven’t seen him so damn happy for a pretty long time,” he heard somewhere on his right side and snapped out of his inner monologue with a flinch. He tended to do this far too often lately.

“I know, right?” other nurse answered the first remark and winked at Thomas like she knew something he did not. “What a cute couple you make. And he hogged you for himself so long; we were curious what kind of guy you are for him to be so hyped about it.”

“Was he?” Thomas couldn’t help but ask. “Hyped I mean.”

“Yeah, especially these past few weeks,” the red lipped nurse nodded while reaching for a cup with coffee, sipping it slowly. “I guess since the marriage, eh? Who would have thought, never pictured him as a guy who enjoys doing such grand gestures.”

“That’s a long story,” Thomas commented lightly. “He’s normally not a fan of these traditions.”

“Yeah, we know,” the other nurse nodded in agreement. “That’s why we are so surprised. In a good way though.”

He wondered if they knew more or if Newt stuck to the official version of them dating for three years? It was a weird thing, creating such complex web of lies when it was not really needed anymore. The background of them dating for so long served its purpose with Ava and the rest of the family, but Newt’s side of friends and colleagues didn’t need to be told such fairy tales, it served no real purpose. Although Thomas could see the appeal of it – it was definitely more romantic than meeting in a casino and marrying an hour later.

Although Thomas was glad they did.

“Coffee?” the red lipped nurse offered him a mug and Thomas decided to accept. It looked like a long day and the dread of Newt spending his time with his ex was tying up knots in his stomach like a mischievous spider.

If he was going to be bitter, he could at least have a real reason.

***

It took an hour. The nurses were coming and going like in a hive until there was only him left and it felt _bad_. He was sitting at the table like a child that was sent to repent in a corner and an urge to leave back home was getting stronger by each passing minute.

What took him so long? No, he didn’t want even _think_ of the possibilities. There was _no way_ Newt would do it anyway, yet his brain was so damn stupid and decided to present just that for the torture.

When he reached a peak of his patience while keeping himself sane, he quickly texted Newt with a message he was going to do some shopping and then cook at home, so his abrupt depart wouldn’t be so damn obvious, and left the clinic like a beaten dog with his tail between his legs.

If there really had been something going on – if Newt really did like Alby still – would Thomas be able to even fight for him? What cards did he have, except the fact they were married? How did anyone even fight for somebody they loved? What kind of tactics or words would they use?

It was so weird, yet Thomas couldn’t get rid of the feeling all the way to the shop, through the ordeal and even when he finally got back home.

Was he no good after all? Maybe Newt was just curious who was he living with. Maybe it wasn’t strange for him to keep up several relationships at once.

 _For fuck’s sake, am I really blaming him for having an affair? Wait, what if_ I _am the affair?_

He wasn’t surprised when he attempted to cook he cut his finger, burned the food and ruined perfectly nice tortillas.

***

“Oi, you don’t know how to pick a call?”

Thomas was aware Newt got home. He heard the door, he heard his voice and his footsteps, yet he refused to move from his spot on the balcony until his husband reached him there, ruffling his hair, and then pulling at few strands gently as if in reprimand.  

“Tommy?”

“Sorry, probably left it in my jacket,” Thomas forced himself to smile apologetically and Newt raised an eyebrow. “You called?”

“Yes?” the blond answered like he wasn’t sure if Thomas wasn’t making fun of him. “Four times?”

“Oh.”

“Is something the matter?” it didn’t need his usual sharpness for guessing it, Thomas knew, but he still wasn’t prepared for the question.

“Not really,” he chose to stay vague and tried another smile. Newt stared and then frowned.

“Spill the beans,” he ordered him sternly and Thomas felt his throat tighten. He couldn’t possibly tell him about it, could he? He felt like a fool by himself, he didn’t need Newt to confirm it – and then be mad at him as well. Because why wouldn’t be, right?

“Thomas,” the rough usage of his name made him flinch a little, and when a touch on his shoulder came, it felt rather tense. “For fuck’s sake, mate. Don’t do this to me – weren’t we good this morning? What the hell happened? Did the girls tell you something or what’s the matter?”

“Nobody told me anything,” Thomas shook his head. He wanted to kick himself for being so down, for thinking such stupid thoughts and then ruining Newt’s mood along with his own, but there it was, dragging his consciousness into a black pit of despair and he couldn’t help himself. “Really. It’s fine. Just a little homesick.”

_Stupid lie._

“Not buying it,” Newt uttered and Thomas stiffened. That sounded angry, didn’t it. He was mad at him for it. Well, it was understandable, really, but it still came as a punch to his gut. Then the blond moved again and came back with another chair he put on the spot next to Thomas, where he promptly sat down and crossed his arms on his chest. “You’re a shitty liar. Not that I don’t know, it just amaze me you’re trying to pull it on me.”

“Newt…” he took a deep breath, but nothing really came.

“Yeah, that’s my name, good job for remembering it after screaming it last night over and over again.”

“Oh god,” Thomas hid his face in his hands, the familiar hotness reaching up his cheeks. What a low blow to play the sex card – it was like flipping a switch in Thomas and his brain got flooded with memories of _how_ amazing it felt, how he couldn’t get enough, how Newt taught him what he liked and praised Thomas for doing it _just right_ , and really, why the hell was he thinking of it _now_?!

“So did the sex ruin it?” an absolute unexpected notion came and Thomas couldn’t believe Newt would actually think that.

“What?” he looked back at his husband just to see a dark eyes staring back with an intense glow in them. Oh yeah, he was pissed off for sure. “No! For the love of… no, for real, this is not it!”

It was ridiculous, Thomas thought the exact opposite thing just this morning – how it connected them and everything. Why couldn’t he hold his horses back when it was important? He should have called Teresa about it, she would be able to get him back in line. Maybe he really needed some of her deadly honesty in this relationship, or he was going to ruin it in a month.

Newt tilted his head to the side, but the intensity Thomas felt from him stayed.

“So?”

No way out. This got out of hand and for such a ridiculous thing Thomas felt even worse for causing with this reason. He quickly shook his head and reached for Newt’s hands; relieved the blond didn’t make a move against it and let him grip them maybe too tightly.

“Look, I’m an idiot,” he started quietly. “And it has _nothing_ to do with the sex. Or you for that matter.”

“I highly doubt it has nothing to do with me,” Newt commented coldly. “But fine. Continue.”

“It’s about Alby-,”

“Wha-,” Newt let out with wide eyes, his expression breaking into pure shock.

“I just saw him today and he asked for you and it was so weird I just-,”

“For fuck’s sake-,”

“I feel like an idiot, it just built up and when you didn’t get back in an hour, I panicked and then mauled over it and-,”

“You were _jealous_!” Newt cut the exchange with so much wonder in his voice it stopped Thomas in his tracks like somebody paralyzed him. “You were bloody… I can’t believe this!”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-,”

“No, I’m actually… _dammit_ ,” Newt pulled his hands away from Thomas’ grip, but only so he could reach for his face, holding him at place with wide eyes. His touch was warm and soft and he didn’t even look mad anymore. “ _You love me_.”

“Uh… yes?” the statement wasn’t anything new and Thomas didn’t quite get it why it sounded so surprised. “How’s that new?”

“No, I… I know you told me, of course,” the blond dropped his hands again, but looked like he didn’t know what to do with them. “You even told me this morning, I know you did, but…”

“What, you didn’t believe me?” Thomas said and cringed immediately – he didn’t mean to sound so accusing when he was the one who fucked it up in the first place.

“It’s not that I didn’t believe you,” Newt shook his head. “I just wasn’t sure? I guess. Sorry, I guess this is weird.”

“I dunno, it’s my first fight in a relationship,” Thomas barked out an embarrassed laugh, the tension slowly leaving his body. “I just felt so lame for it I thought telling you would only make things worse.”

“Well, for one,” Newt’s touch was back, but this time on Thomas’ thighs. “Yes, it was lame, being jealous of Alby of all the people.”

“It’s your ex,” Thomas pointed out. “Sorry for not feeling all dandy around him.”

“If it makes you sleep better, I don’t feel all dandy around him either,” Newt offered. “I mean, it had been _years_ since we stopped seeing each other and I still feel uneasy around him.”

“ _That_ is weird.”

“Not really,” Newt started drawing abstract shapes on Thomas’ thighs, almost like he didn’t even know he was doing it. “It’s not like we dated per se, but… It had been hard few years for me and when I thought I was falling in a mutual love that could make things better; I realized sex was nothing when the other simply refused to support you in the rest of your emotional baggage.”

_Okay, the sex notion didn’t help._

Thomas wanted to ask, but Newt’s expression seemed rather lost he wasn’t sure how to start. He knew so little of Newt’s past it was like a big enigma – and he didn’t know _how_ to ask such thing without sounding nosy and annoying. It wasn’t like Newt learned of Thomas’ past either, although there wasn’t much to tell.

“It’s not like we _broke up_ or anything, there was simply nothing to end if you thought about it,” the blond added quietly. “We just simply… stopped. He didn’t accept me whole and I didn’t want to pretend there was nothing wrong, so I quitted. He didn’t really bother to ask _why_ , except of making sure we were not involved anymore, and that was it.”

“He sounds like a bag of dicks,” Thomas piped and Newt barked out a laugh.

“Maybe,” he admitted. “But it’s not like I don’t understand his decision. People who have too much on their plates are not easy to handle. You gotta deal with it sooner or later and sometimes it’s better not to.”

“That’s bullshit,” Thomas uttered and Newt shrugged. He looked rather conflicted, like there was more going on, but Thomas didn’t want to push him, not like this.

“The moral of this story is,” the blond took a deep breath. “I never had anybody jealous over me. I know it’s not nice, and I’m apparently a little weird in this, but despite the fact you made me worried you also made me happy.”

“By being jealous.”

“Yeah,” Newt leaned in and brushed their lips together gently. His eyes were dark and half lidded and Thomas got almost lost in them. “Cuz you care.”

“I’m sorry for making you worry about this,” Thomas whispered to his lips. He was unfair and childish and Newt really didn’t need to deal with this stupid shit. “How can I make it up to you?”

“I know of few things,” Newt’s lips curled up in a smile and he kissed Thomas shortly. It was sweet and gentle and maybe that was also why Thomas didn’t expect Newt to continue by saying: “But beside of what you’re thinking, I just want you to listen to me for a while first.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetad!
> 
> This was a speed writing af. Still took almost two hours, but damn x.x 
> 
> Anyway! Sorry for the drama - or not really a drama, just relationship problems. Next chapter *should* consist of bits and pieces of Newt's past, I suppose :)


	22. Bedtime Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What, you think having a fuck buddy is a sin, ex-church boy?” he teased him unmercifully and Thomas made a face at him.  
> “No,” he uttered dryly. “I think you deserve a lot more than that though, and Alby is a dick.”  
> “Weeell…”  
> “Please don’t comment on the dick reference.”

_I just want you to listen to me for a while first._

Thomas wasn’t entirely sure _what_ he was going to hear, but somehow Newt’s expression stalled him from any verbal reaction, so he only nodded and sat back on his chair with a weird feeling in his stomach. It wasn’t like he feared what he was going to hear, but he had a hunch it wouldn’t be anything about bunnies and kittens either.

But the fact Newt actually trusted him enough to share something this personal meant a lot to him, even if it was painful and hard do deal with.

“You remember when I told you that you wouldn’t like me in my twenties?” Newt opened in a lower voice, but he held Thomas’ gaze proudly. Thomas liked that about him – the fact he didn’t bend down to anybody when it matters. Even their first meeting was about the same thing – with Newt telling him he was not going to be pushed around.

“Yeah,” Thomas piped. “You said life happened after.”

“Oh yeah,” the blond agreed with a sigh. “Life, karma. Whatever. The point is – I’ve been, as we call it, a bad egg since I was a teen. I wouldn’t say a kid, since I think my kid self wouldn’t agree, it still held at least some kind of innocence and hope for a time. But me as a teenager – that was when it started.”

“Puberty hit?” Thomas tried to lighten up the mood and Newt actually chuckled at it, so it apparently worked.

“Sort of, I guess?” he shrugged. “I started to realize all kind of stuff around me. Mainly the fact I was attracted to guys more than to girls, which was lame enough for a teenager who decided to struggle with it instead of accepting it. Not to mention my family wasn’t exactly supportive either.”

_Oh yeah, Newt did mention something about his family dealing with the fact for pretty long._

He nodded quietly and Newt took a deep breath.

“You don’t need to tell me if you don’t feel like it,” he said carefully and the blond shook his head.

“I don’t feel like it, but I want you to know, so…” he trailed off, and then grew quiet for a second, before continuing. “The most of the teen years were weird, but I got through them somehow, although not really as a person that would be liked by about anybody around. I had some acquaintances, but not friends you can depend on and quite frankly didn’t want any either, because I was an idiot. Was about eighteen when the shit hit the fan with most of the stuff – I thought I was in love, but it hit me back, my family found out I fancy guys, they basically hit me back with it as well, and there was _nobody_ I could turn to, who I could talk to. Maybe if there was… things would have been different.”

Thomas didn’t like the sound of it, and he _hated_ how Newt’s expression fell at the end, so there had been a terrible punchline coming for sure. The blond seemed to think of it for a moment and then leaned back in the chair with a small smile aimed at Thomas.

“I guess you already put one and one together,” he guessed and Thomas desperately hoped his first thought wasn’t the case – _his_ Newt wouldn’t do that, would he? A person full of life and humour and everything.

“Aw, your expression is so sad,” Newt reached for his hand and squeezed it slightly. “I guess it’s tough hearing it, but yep, I gave up on everything. Decided it was not worth to live a shitty life and my bird brain couldn’t pull out any better solution than to just jump to my death.”

“ _No_ ,” Thomas breathed out before stopping himself and Newt cleared his throat awkwardly and let go.

“I didn’t die, as you can see,” he pointed out with faked cheerfulness. “Unless you believe in zombies.”

“Newt…”

“Oh, yeah, getting off the track, sorry,” the blond patted Thomas’ knee and took a deep breath. “Look, I was young, unsociable, stupid and kind of suffering, I guess, with the lack of _everything_. I made myself miserable, nobody pushed me, and that was the worst thing from all of it – to know I was just so bloody pitiful because I sucked at life.”

“I…”

“You don’t need to say anything, for real,” Newt offered a small smile. “I don’t expect a feedback. I just want it out of my chest, because it’s worth telling you. _You_ are worth it.”

Thomas remained quiet, even though there were many things he wanted to say, or do, or anything. Listening to this was painful enough and he couldn’t even imagine the shit Newt had to go through.

“After that – everything changed,” Newt continued in a lighter tone. “Mainly because I changed in the first place. The negative approach to life was what caused my several months long hospital stay, and then years of physical therapy afterwards, and it was a miracle, really, that I survived. I heard people usually turn to God, which is really not my calling, but I simply decided to be _better_. Positive. Nothing was _so_ bad to die over it, at least not in my case.”

The physical therapy. Teresa mentioned Newt was under it for some time, did she also know why? Before she said she didn’t find out, but when they were parting on the airport, there was something shady about what she said. So she knew at that point? She knew what happened and wanted Thomas to know?

“I decided to study for the physical therapist, did my psychology degree to understand how people’s mind worked – too bad I didn’t do it sooner, really – and got better. Fucked up my leg for good though, couldn’t walk properly for so bloody long,” the blond uttered and glanced at his right leg like he was cursing at it in his mind. “It’s fine now, although sports are no-go. Except of chess. I can play chess like a pro.”

Thomas groaned, but it made him laugh a little, despite the rest of what Newt was telling him.

“How does Alby fit in all of this?” he gather enough courage to ask, because it was exactly Alby that triggered this talk in the first place.

“Well. We met in the clinic there years ago. Grew to fancy each other and all,” Newt shrugged and Thomas was glad he didn’t look it bothered him to talk about it. “I wasn’t entirely experienced in how relationship goes and stuff, and it wasn’t like I craved it either. But I liked the closeness and just took what I could, even though it was mainly a fuck buddy status.”

“Ugh,” Thomas voiced out automatically before he could stop himself and Newt smirked.

“What, you think having a fuck buddy is a sin, ex-church boy?” he teased him unmercifully and Thomas made a face at him.

“No,” he uttered dryly. “I think you deserve a lot more than that though, and Alby is a dick.”

“Weeell…”

“Please don’t comment on the dick reference.”

“Spoilsport,” the blond chuckled. “Alby isn’t a bad guy though. He went through lots of shit himself to decide what he wanted. When I wanted more, he told me fair and square it was not going to happen.”

“Thought it was you who chickened out?” Thomas pointed out in confusion and Newt shrugged.

“In a sense,” he admitted. “Look, I’m a person with a _huge_ emotional baggage and not easy to deal with.”

“I beg to differ.”

“You can beg me as much as you like,” Newt grinned at him, and it was easier this way, with him joking and not being all gloomy and depressed. Thomas wasn’t entirely sure if it was only a mask or if Newt simply decided to leave the horrors behind him while not letting the memories overcome him, but his approach made it easier. “But the point still stands. I’m demanding when it comes to somebody I like. But I’m also not blind and when I see they’re not willing to give me what I need, I leave it, rather than have just a part of it.”

“I see no reason why you shouldn’t get what you want,” Thomas opposed lightly.

“I don’t understand why they wouldn’t want to give me their souls either, it’s not like I’d summon the forces of mass destruction over it…” Newt joked and Thomas sighed. “Anyway. Alby deals with people like me on daily basis. Hell, I deal with people like me on daily basis too. People who wanted to kill themselves, people after accidents, and people with no will to live. We _know_ these kinds of people are not like themselves anymore and they need special care – and not just physical with the exercises.”

Newt didn’t look like somebody without a will to live anymore though. He was cheerful and friendly and people loved him, and Thomas refused to think it was just an act and deep down he kept on suffering. Or maybe he simply really, really _hoped_ it was not the case. He said he changed, right? It had to mean something.

“You’re not that kind of person anymore though,” he decided to point out, although he wasn’t sure if he didn’t cross a border with it.

“Yeah, I’m not,” Newt thankfully agree, apparently not offended at all. “But that doesn’t guarantee I’m going to be fine and dandy for the rest of my life either, does it?”

“I’ll make sure it does,” Thomas replied stubbornly and Newt stared at him in a shock before barking out a laugh.

“See, that’s exactly the difference,” Newt patted him on his thigh. “You’re willing to take the risk. Alby was not.”

“It’s not _a risk_ -,”

“It kinda is,” Newt stopped him softly. “I mean, it’s minimal, but I did it once, means I’m capable of it. That’s enough of a warning. Alby didn’t want to deal with it. I dare to say he genuinely liked me, but he didn’t want to have a responsibility over me in that way.”

_Fucking Alby._

“That’s why I said I understand him. What we sometimes see in the clinic – it’s not pretty. And quite frankly I wasn’t a joy to look at for some time after the incident either, before I re-evaluated my life choices and all,” Newt continued softly. “That was where it ended. I thought maybe I didn’t need to be in a proper relationship, maybe it was enough. But nope, it was not by a long shot, so that was where I chickened out, even though it was all good and working as it should. We didn’t really speak to each other after either, not much outside of work-related things.”

“That’s why it took you more than an hour to get back from the meeting?” Thomas realized the long delay was exactly what made him so anxious this morning and Newt looked a little dumbfounded for a second, before it apparently dawned on him.

“Oh, yeah, kind of,” he nodded. “You remember the guy I told you about, who had a car accident, lost his wife and kid and refused to walk again?”

“Yeah?” Thomas tilted his head to the side and Newt smiled.

“Well, he started the therapy today,” he told him happily. “But he also required me to assist him with it, even though it was Alby’s shift there, so I stayed with him through it. I’m glad he decided it was worth the effort and is cooperating now.”

“Wow,” Thomas blinked in surprise. “That’s pretty cool!”

“Yup, it so is,” the blond agreed. “Not that Alby was too happy about me getting so personal with a patient, but oh well.”

“You think he still holds a grudge?” Thomas asked in a wonder and Newt shrugged.

“I dunno. Maybe. Not much to do about it anymore though,” he concluded simply. “And not like it matters now either. I’ve just wanted you to know, that’s all.”

It was a huge step forward, Thomas thought. That side of Newt he would never ever guess that could be present got revealed and as much as Thomas regretted he wasn’t there to prevent it, somehow, the easy attitude Newt had held him back from feeling depressed over it. It was a chapter of his life – not a pretty one, but he survived it – and Thomas decided from now on only nice and happy ones were going to follow.

“You’re thinking of how you are going to make me happy for the rest of our lives, aren’t you,” Newt commented with a smirk and Thomas cleared his throat.

“I’m just… pondering. Maybe,” he replied lamely. “I appreciate you told me all of this though, I really do.”

“Well, not exactly a nice bedtime story, but I feel better after telling you,” Newt stood up and pushed Thomas back to the backrest of the chair, then he promptly sat on his lap like a big cat. “Now, when this is out of the way, let’s talk about how you’re going to _make up to me_ today’s miscommunication?”

“Talk?” Thomas immediately circled his waist with his arms and Newt hummed.

“Body language, Tommy.”

_The best talk out of them all._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetad!
> 
> Aaaaaaaand here it is. Sorry I didn't update y-day, managed to write two pages and fell asleep x.x


	23. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You’re not going to prison where I can’t see you or vice versa, you know,” the strictness was now gone completely and then Thomas got pushed back with Newt sitting on his thighs, smiling softly. “My poor little baby. Are you afraid I’d forget about you in meantime?”  
> “As if,” Thomas retorted boldly and it made Newt smirk. “I just want to be with you, is all.”  
> “You’re with me,” Newt offered. “And you will be with me even in college. You have a ring to prove it, you know.”

Making love to Newt was a guaranteed recipe for a complete disconnection from reality – even if outside the world was ending, _this_ would be easily setting Thomas’ mind elsewhere. There were not enough of the noises Newt made, not by far enough of touches and kisses, and even though Thomas was pretty sure he still sucked at it somehow, he was eager to learn and make his lover feel as good as he did, if not better.

If somebody told him a year ago he was going to be happy with a man, _thoroughly happy_ at that matter, he would probably told them to stuff it and stop spouting nonsense. Yet here he was, trailing his fingers over the bare skin of a without a doubt _male_ husband of his, filling him with an intent to elicit more moans, more breathless curses, more variations of his name being said in a lustful voice, and simply not getting enough of it.

“I t-taught you a bit too w-well,” Newt gasped for air after another deep kiss Thomas bestowed upon him and his whole body shook while he kept pushing into Thomas’ chest as if he wanted to get him away from him, but at the same time his heels were digging into Thomas’ hips, urging him closer. “At this rate I’m g-going to lose my mind.”

“I take that as a compliment,” Thomas grinned at him and took one of his fighting hands away from his chest, bringing it to his lips to kiss it. It made Newt whine louder and his body arched up, making Thomas see stars.

“You have no idea,” the blond breathed out and his other hand stopped pushing so he could curl it around the back of Thomas’ neck. “What you got yourself into.”

“What, is that a promise?” he grinned at Newt mischievously and it seemed like the blond simply gave up, because he barked out a laugh and pulled Thomas flush against his chest while gasping when the intrusion deepened as well.

“It’s a bloody promise,” he mumbled into Thomas’ ear and it was enough to throw Thomas over the edge in a blissful fall.

***

Thomas decided to be a housewife. It was an obvious goal since he moved here and did most of the chores over the week, and them some of them over the weekend, since Newt’s habits involved doing just that as a stress relief. Of course, since him and Thomas were now a fully functioning couple (which sounded clinical, but when Thomas thought of _lovers_ it usually did things to him), there were much better deeds how to get rid of stress for him, but the housework preserved as well and Thomas didn’t complain.

That thought of doing what he could at home came to him especially because the time of going back to school grew closer and the distaste of actually coming back to his studies was stronger than anything else. It would mean leave New York for most of the week (or in the worst case _months_ ) – which included leaving Newt as well and staying either in a college room or in Ava’s house. Both possibilities were frightening, although college sounded slightly more bearable, especially because she wouldn’t be there to pester him.

But yes. A house wife sounded brilliant. Doing all he could to make Newt feel great and taken care of, and maybe also searching for a job in meantime, and who needed another lousy architect anyway?

These decisions actually made him feel rather reconciled and in peace, like it was a finished matter and nobody needed to deal with it anymore, until one evening his phone rang and he foolishly didn’t look at the caller when picking up (he blamed Newt because the blond was resting on him while they were lying on the couch and it was so damn peaceful and pleasant he simply didn’t think anything disastrous could possibly happen).

Boy, was he wrong.

“How are you going to deal with college?” the voice on the other side of the line without _hi_ or anything made all his hair stand up in terror and the sudden tenseness of his body alerted Newt better than any words. He glanced up at Thomas with raised eyebrows and Thomas was pretty sure his expression must have been positively terrified.

“Ava,” he gulped down as a greeting, probably, and Newt’s expression grew all worried. They hadn’t spoken since Thomas left the house and quite frankly he hoped they would continue for a bit longer, to keep the peace.

“There is a week left and you still didn’t do anything about it,” her voice was threatening and all the dread he occasionally felt when his mind decided to give college a thought came back with vengeance. “Where are you going to stay? Do you have all the books? You didn’t even bother to change the address so all the letters came here!”

“Can we talk about this later?” he tried to calm her raging anger, but he only made it worse, since her voice got higher.

“It’s already _too late_!” her commanding tone was back. “And you’ve been playing a dead bug the whole vacation, do you think we’re paying the tuition so you can slack off?!”

“Ava-,”

“I want you _here_ as soon as possible, do you understand? End of discussion!” she hissed and then the line got quiet when she hung up. Thomas remained petrified in the same position and only when Newt gently took his phone and put it on the table he came back to reality.

“Pleasant talk, I gather,” the blond commented, his soothing presence seeping back to Thomas’ rigid body like a calming balm. “Was she demanding a divorce? Judging from the loud voice.”

“No,” Thomas shook his head and took a deep breath. “College is starting soon. I have a week.”

Newt’s eyes widened almost comically before it apparently all dawned on him and he quickly sat up like somebody pinched is butt.

“I totally forgot!” he exclaimed. “And I’ve been meaning to ask you, but still thought there is plenty of time or whatever – the school is starting in a bloody week, _damn!_ ”

“Um.”

“I gather not in New York?” the blond concluded thoughtfully and Thomas could only stare. “Mate, the timing sucks balls though. Are you staying in college or in the house?”

“I don’t know,” Thomas admitted unhappily. Was Newt fine with him leaving? Just like that? “I thought of not going back-,”

“That’s out of question,” the blond stopped him resolutely, taking all words out of Thomas’ mouth. He looked like he meant it and it was weird, since they just got together like this, why would he want Thomas gone again?

“I don’t even like my major,” he mumbled quietly and sat up as well to bring a bit more seriousness into the conversation. Not that Newt’s face hadn’t been stern enough, as if he adopted Ava’s attitude.

“Thomas,” the harsh name calling immediately signalized Newt didn’t fool around if his expression didn’t show it enough. “Are you seriously thinking of dropping out from school? Are you serious? How many years are left for you to finish it?”

“One,” he muttered.

“One,” Newt repeated and crossed his arms on his chest to multiply the defensiveness he adopted. “You must be joking.”

Thomas took a breath to answer, but then deflated like a balloon. It was stupid, he had to admit. One year and he was out with a diploma. One year and no more school would hang in the air. But the image of him leaving Newt right now was so damn bad he would be willing to drop it all and stay here.

“Look,” a sudden touch on his shoulder returned him to the present and Newt who looked a little more approachable now, with softer look in his eyes. “Just one more year, what’s so bad about it? Are you hesitating because you’re gonna have to leave New York for few days in a week?”

_Bullseye._

“Leave in general,” he grumbled grudgingly. “I mean, right now…”

“You’re not going to prison where I can’t see you or vice versa, you know,” the strictness was now gone completely and then Thomas got pushed back with Newt sitting on his thighs, smiling softly. “My poor little baby. Are you afraid I’d forget about you in meantime?”

“As if,” Thomas retorted boldly and it made Newt smirk. “I just want to be with you, is all.”

“You’re with me,” Newt offered. “And you will be with me even in college. You have a ring to prove it, you know.”

“Oh god, have to announce the status change,” Thomas groaned unhappily. That meant so many annoying administrative changes it only fuelled his distaste to come back even more. “The _questions_.”

“You can always tell them I’m a pretty blond girl with big boobs and a model career,” Newt pointed out with a small laugh and his hands started to pick at the edge of Thomas’ shirt. “It’s not like they’d ask for details, right?”

“You have a solution for everything, don’t you,” Thomas made a face at him and the blond only smiled wider and leaned down to peck him on the lips. “It’s in Iowa.”

“That’s not even that bad,” Newt opposed. “I thought you’d say Washington or something. But Iowa is what, three hours flight away?”

For real, he was taking to so well it was like the only pinning idiot was Thomas.

“Admit it, you want to get rid of me,” Thomas frowned at him and Newt snorted.

“’fcourse, you’re just a seasonal husband,” he answered with faked seriousness. “I have the Autumn one waiting for his turn already. Will just change rings.”

“Very funny,” Thomas squeezed Newt’s butt in reprimand, but it didn’t faze the blond even a little bit. “I just expected you to be more bummed out about it.”

“I’ve been preparing myself for this the whole summer break,” the blond responded with a sigh that looked real this time. “That you gotta leave for school when the time comes. But it’s not a life-sentence, Tommy. Not to mention you can always come back here for the weekend or I’ll come to you. We can see each other anytime. I can even take vacation at some point as well. When you think about it, it’s really not that big of a deal.”

“It is for me.”

“Aw, you love-struck darling,” Newt kissed him teasingly. “You’d get tired of me too fast; take this as a boost for the anticipation.”

“Anticipation of what?”

“Whatever you want,” Newt shrugged. “Sex, I guess?”

“It’s not like I’m after sex!” Thomas retorted briskly and Newt grinned at him.

“Well, then sex anticipation is for me,” he raked through Thomas’ hair. “And all the cuddly stuff for you.”

“You’re not making it any easier.”

“I’m making it a little easier,” Newt opposed. “C’mon. It would have been worse if you had to move because of work or something, then we’d have a problem. But school is fine. I can still maintain my cradle robber status.”

“We are not _that_ far apart, you know,” Thomas informed him pointedly, earning another kiss, this time longer and deeper and it made his toes curl a little. He got so used to this closeness it almost physically pained him only when he imagined the distance and the loneliness. Sure, he’d have Teresa there, since she studied at the same school, just with different major, but it didn’t lessen the impact of not seeing Newt every day, going to sleep with him and waking up, and as cheesy as it sounded it was literally breaking Thomas’ will to attend apart.

“I will make it up to you every time we’ll see each other,” Newt whispered to his lips. “All your suffering will be mine to amend.”

“What a big words you’re usin’.”

“I’m trying to motivate you,” Newt nibbled on Thomas’ lower lip. “I’m going to pin after you the whole time too, you know.”

“You don’t sound too heartbroken,” Thomas nagged a little and Newt bit him harder this time, making him yelp.

“Rude,” the blond commented. “Just because I don’t whine about it doesn’t mean I don’t mind.”

“So now I whine?” Thomas countered and Newt rolled his hips down _hard_ , making Thomas gasp.

“You were sayin’?” the blond smiled sweetly at him and Thomas considered it his loss and reconciled with the fact. He pulled Newt back down, close to his chest, and hummed quietly.

“You win,” he mumbled. “I don’t like the arrangement, but I’ll suffer through it for you.”

“Mmm, for me, huh?” he heard Newt rumble from his lying position and then arms circled his torso and snuggled close. “We’re going to make it, don’t you worry. I love you and I won’t give up on you _ever_ , so deal with it.”

“Wasn’t that my line?” Thomas piped with a smile and Newt only kissed the side of his neck, as high as he could reach from his position.

“It’s ours,” he concluded. “I’ll help you pack tomorrow and go with you to Iowa. We can cry in front of your school if you like.”

“No crying, Teresa would never let me live it down,” Thomas shook his head and Newt’s body shook with laughter. “But kissing is allowed.”

“That I can take care of.”

Yeah. They were _so_ going to make it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetad!
> 
> Aaaaaaaand finished :D Thank you all for the support and lovely comments, I'm really grateful for them! <3 I thought I'd put some more of stuff in here, but then it would only lead to drama and more useless chapters, so I decided to leave the main story here for now. May get back to it later (aka with Newt's family business and the college dealing etc.). If you have any ideas, feel free to hit me up with it :)
> 
> But all in all, this is it! I have some other pressing matters to attend to, that was also a reason why I posted sporadically these last chapters (also the cold got me KO'd), so I apologize for that ^^'
> 
> You're all amazing and I wuv you <3 I hope you all find (or maybe already found) your Newt <3


	24. One Shot: Falling in love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous asked:
> 
> Hello! I know you just finished First In Love Loses but I was wondering if you were taking one shot ideas? If you are, can you please write about how and when Newt fell in love with Thomas? It would be so awesome to have some Newt POV. Thanks!!!

_“Are you British?”_

_Ava Paige was about everything Newt thought she would be. There was an evident worried crease between her brows, like she frowned often, and strictness in the shape of her mouth indicating she was principled and rather control-possessed. Newt wasn’t surprised by anything she said or how she acted, simply because Thomas painted her so well and it simply all fit._

_He felt like Thomas tightened his grip on his arm and it was like he wanted to keep him in line, or maybe remind him not to take the woman seriously (not that Newt was planning it)._

_“I was born in London,” he answered calmly and her eyes were watching him with intent sharpness. “But we moved to America when I was ten.”_

_“Your accent remained though,” she pointed out sternly and even though Newt wanted to at least smirk for such stupid notion, he only nodded instead of giving her a satisfaction to rouse any kind of emotion in him for it._

_“It did.”_

_“I like it,” Thomas shot out like a defensive dog and Newt blinked in surprise. For real? He stood his ground, just like that? He wouldn’t expect him to stop her like this, announcing his preference without a single hiccup. Seriously, Newt did think Thomas was no pushover, just simply didn’t find the right moment to show it, but this definitely warmed him up from inside and made him much more relaxed._

_“He likes it,” he shrugged and couldn’t help the smile forcing his way up to his face. Maybe that was why Ava was so ruffled after and left them in a fast stride._

In retrospect it probably was the moment the evident attraction Newt felt towards the young man started morphing into something more, and the as the evening progressed, Newt was becoming surer of it.

Thomas was pretty. Like, genuinely pretty – he had cheerful smile and deep eyes and Newt never denied the fact he was not a bad thing to look at. Of course, the whole thing about the marriage and dealing with everything around it had been quite stressing at times, but even despite that Newt never hesitated.

He married him because there was certain demand about the guy, like he needed somebody to give his life a meaning, and as much as Newt gradually changed his mind about Teresa after months of the life with Thomas, he was still glad he didn’t leave him to marry her. Not only he would never stand on his own feet in that way and left him under Ava’s rule, but he would regret it as well, and Newt simply felt obligated to help. Or maybe it was also because he was already slightly drunk at that point in Vegas, didn’t really like the casinos and saw something similar in Thomas he alone felt that night (probably the uncertainty wherever it was fine _not_ to like Vegas when others enjoyed it so much).

But yeah, he liked the guy pretty soon after they got to know each other better, and Newt honestly thought he started falling for him in the family house, under Ava’s scrutiny. It only started to be more prominent when they lived together though. The fact Thomas had been making Newt breakfast was like a cupid’s arrow in his heart, and all those little gestures piled up until Newt couldn’t imagine being without him. So he started sneaking more touches and Thomas willingly took them all. He started with the cheek kisses and Thomas reciprocated. Suddenly it was more personal and intimate, and when Thomas’ family visited, Newt was already lost (for a long time anyway).

But the true power of an actual love, the true one where you craved the other like air and couldn’t be without him, was _now_ , at the exact moment, when Newt arrived to Iowa’s university and saw his husband after two weeks and half of absence (exams, too much studying, stress on  Thomas’ side, and quite frankly it was busy even at the clinic, so they decided to postpone it until all the ruckus was calmer, and also probably both of them regretted it despite the busy period – at least Newt did for sure).

It was like an adrenaline rush, like somebody kicked him with energy and he didn’t care there were people around, he basically pounced him and kissed him senseless and Thomas was kissing him back like starving.

“Oh god, get a room,” he heard somewhere near them, and he distinctly recognized Teresa’s voice, but didn’t really care.

“Wait, Thomas has a _husband_?” another voice, this time unknown one though and it made him smile into the kiss.

“You didn’t even text me you’re on your way,” Thomas whispered to his lips and Newt would say he looked a little dazed. He loved that expression so bloody much.

“Surprise,” he smirked cheekily and smooched him some more. “I thought about kidnapping you for a bit, if you’re free?”

“Even if I wasn’t I’d go,” Thomas responded quietly and yeah, Newt was loving him to bits like he was fifteen again. And he loved him for so long it really felt like _ages_.

“You say the sweetest things,” Newt hugged him tightly and felt how Thomas lifted him for several seconds like he weighted nothing. “Oi, there, Superman.”

“Sorry, you think we can crash somewhere first… for a bit?”

Teresa behind them snorted and Newt, despite the laughter that bubbled in his throat, nodded in agreement while looking almost serious.

***

“Funny thing,” he pointed out while playing with Thomas’ messy brown hair, watching the brunet slowly descending along his chest, leaving small, gentle kisses over his bare skin. “I distinctly remember you saying you’re _not_ after sex.”

“Shhh,” Thomas bit him playfully and continued with his ministrations. “I’m only human.”

“Lies,” Newt chuckled, but Thomas was apparently having none of it and pushed him down on the bed while pulling at the belt of his trousers. Newt would probably consider this hilarious – they basically rented a hotel room only so they could make love like some secret horny couple – but his sense of humour was repressed now anyway as Thomas’ touches progressed lower.

“I’ve missed you,” the brunet whispered to Newt’s ear in a deep, hungry voice and Newt just couldn’t _wait_ for Thomas’ graduation so he would have him back home again. “So damn much.”

“I’d say _let’s get married_ , but oh well, already done that,” Newt grinned at him breathlessly and Thomas had the audacity to grab his left hand and suck on his ring finger lewdly, making him moan.

“Suppose kids are out of question as well,” that little dark eyed ex-church boy (hell of a church boy, if he ever had been, Newt highly doubted that since the first kiss they shared) drawled and started dragging Newt’s pants down his legs.

“Not for the lack of trying though,” Newt added with a pointed look at Thomas’ endeavour and his husband chuckled and returned back up to Newt’s lips for another toe-curling kiss.

“Love you,” he kissed corner of Newt’s mouth gently. “Would totally marry you _again_ if I could.”

“We’re not getting divorce just cuz of that, are we?” Newt pulled him flush against his body and circled his legs around his hips, and Thomas in return sucked on the pulsing point of Newt’s neck while making a disagreeing noise in the back of his throat.

“With such romantic wedding of ours? Never,” he continued playfully with his lips along Newt’s neck towards his ear and bit him gently. “Would be such a waste.”

“I agree,” Newt gasped and seriously couldn’t wish for the year to be over more. He was never going to let Thomas go again.

The point was – there was a high possibility Newt was in love with Thomas sooner than was healthy, but he didn’t regret it one bloody bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetad!
> 
> Well, Newt is a softie, so :D


	25. One Shot: Jealous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous asked:
> 
> As a oneshot for First in Love Losses could you maybe do something where Newt finds out Thomas goes to college with his ex and gets kinda jealous, but then realizes thats probably how Thomas felt about Alby? It's slightly similar to the Staying Up- Payback is a bitch oneshot so I completely understand if you don't wanna write it though!

Newt took life positively, and considered no problem too big to be impossible to deal with it. He learned it was the best way how to feel happy most of the time, and how to make others happy in return as well. That was a reason why he was so shocked by his own sudden spark of jealousy and spite when Thomas innocently pointed out there was a girl in his class he used to have an immense crush on some time back.

It was a stupid thing, Newt admitted, but he still glared at the photo of the whole class like he could make it catch on fire, especially the dark haired girl standing in front, smiling broadly and looking like a porn actress. Yes, she was pretty, yes, he understood why Thomas fancied her, but he still had an urge to flip the picture away like an unhappy kid.

“Her?” he pointed at figure of the porn actress wannabe with a faked casualness and Thomas leaned over his back and rested his chin against Newt’s shoulder. He had been home since yesterday and Newt was overjoyed, since their schedules kept on ruining the possible get-together and he was getting frustrated over it.

“Mhm,” Thomas hummed gently and dropped a small kiss on his husband’s cheek. “But that’s like… year and half ago? She looks a little different now.”

“Why didn’t you date her?” Newt asked and it felt like venom dripping from his mouth. Why was he so worked up about a random girl Thomas didn’t even date? It was like being jealous at somebody over a can of soda in a hot day that he couldn’t get while that person had only seen it somewhere but didn’t get it either.

“Eh,” he felt Thomas shrug. “I was shy. And she had a boyfriend anyway. Or several of them during the time. Never felt like I could compete. It’s not like I regret it though.”

“No lingering feelings?”

He felt Thomas stiffen a little and then gasp.

“Are you jealous?” he asked in surprised tone and Newt couldn’t stop the groan coming up his mouth. “Oh man!”

“Sorry,” he uttered, pushing the photo further away from him. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me today.”

It wasn’t like he even thought of Thomas wanting to do something about the girl, there was simply no reason for him to do so. He knew Thomas was human like anybody else, a man who could fall in love easily, but somehow his mind stubbornly stuck itself on the point of being his husband’s first in _everything_ , including crushes. He had no idea why he believed in that though, it wasn’t like Thomas was a _literal_ church boy. He met people, he fancied people, he probably at least kissed…

“Ever kissed her at least?” he asked and that question surprised even him – what a childish inquiry. Thomas snorted and then nuzzled him like he was comforting him.

“No, I’ve never kissed her,” he responded easily. “I did kiss other girls though.”

“Oh?” this time Newt turned around to face him and had a bad feeling his expression was darker than he wanted it to be. Thomas didn’t look bothered though, so maybe Newt got lucky.

“Few. No big deal though,” the brunet shrugged and his lips widened in a smile. “You’re absolutely adorable when jealous, you know that?”

“Nothing adorable about it,” Newt grumbled and took a step back, just to be stopped by Thomas’ arms circling his waist, pulling him back into a hug.

“Well, except of the fact there is nothing to be jealous of, you’re cute when you scrunch your nose like that,” he kissed Newt on the nose and the blond huffed and hid his face in the crook of Thomas’ neck.

Was this how Thomas felt about Alby? Even though there was _nothing_ going on with them anymore, was the uneasiness from _maybe_ so unbearable? Because Newt felt so damn _lame_ for it. Hell, he at least had some sort of relationship with Alby to be jealous over, but Thomas didn’t even date the girl and Newt still felt like chaining him at home and never let him go back to college again.

“Newt,” Thomas’ gentle voice cooed at him and he started swaying them from side to side. “I swear there is nothing-,”

“I know there is nothing,” the blond interrupted him with a sigh. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to overreact this way.”

“You did not,” Thomas assured him and Newt grew bold enough to look him in the eye again. Thomas’ expression was so fond he could barely conceal a whimper, and when his husband brushed their lips together, he almost felt like he _shouldn’t_ as a punishment.

But it was pretty difficult not to so he sent several more mental apologies towards his husband and kissed him back with all his might. There were still two days left before Thomas would leave for Iowa again and he intended to make the most of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since Thomas didn't have any exes, not to mention experience, I changed it to "a crush" ^^


	26. One Shot: Graduation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lison from Ao3 asked for Thomas’ graduation ^^ I’ve started the wedding theme as well there, since it was very frequently asked for as well, but the wedding itself is going to be in another one shot :)

Thomas had been a nervous wreck during these last exam days, like he couldn’t calm down no matter who tried to comfort him (even Newt seemed to fail at that point, although it was only via phone call, but at least it made him motivated to successfully pass every obstacle so he could come home and stay there).

But now it was finally over.

He goddamn made it! Although the feeling of accomplishment wasn’t as big as Thomas thought it would be after so much work – the only thing he was really happy about was that New York waited for him and he could be with his husband again without wandering from state to state every few weeks (which was a sad truth, as much as he _wanted_ to come back home every weekend, sometimes it was impossible, either from his side or from Newts’ where they simply couldn’t get their schedules to work enough for it to pay off).

Now the only obstacle (or as Teresa called it _the mandatory evil_ ) was the graduation ceremony itself.

The whole damn hall had been literally packed with people – students and their families – and Thomas was getting a little desperate when it midst of so many faces couldn’t find the one he really wanted to see.

_What if he didn’t make it in the end?_

After all he didn’t send any text since yesterday, except of _of course I’ll be there_ and even with the best intent the traffic could prevent him from the arrival.

“If you’re searching for your hubby, he’s on the other side than you’re looking,” Teresa whispered to him sweetly and chuckled when he almost topped himself when trying to see. “Hold your horses, cowboy. Just survive this one more thing and it’s all done.”

“I know, I know,” he mumbled, yet the nervousness kept on gripping him when he couldn’t spot Newt anywhere in the crowd – or anybody else from the family, really. But among so many people it hadn’t be that big of a surprise (still sad though) and he envied Teresa’s calmness in this matter. Of course, the degree had been an achievement and he was proud to get it, but if the time fast forwarded to the point of this ceremony ending, he would be the happiest.

“We’re delighted to have this occasion to celebrate the learning and the accomplishments of the degree recipients with those closest to them - those that have nurtured, encouraged and supported them through the exciting but often stressful process of obtaining a graduate degree. Would all of you who have travelled here today to join our presentation please rise?” the monotonous voice announced and Thomas grew all fidgety again. The whole audience started to stand up and then _, finally_ , Thomas found who he was looking for – the blond, amazing human being altogether with Thomas’ family (right next to Ava? Oh god).

“How long do you think this is going to take?” he asked Teresa in a low voice and she snorted.

“You’re hopeless.”

 ***

It took over two hours, Thomas’ soul almost left his body during it. Even when he was receiving his degree he kind of wanted to ask the headmaster to _speed it up a little_. But then it was over, the trumpet started playing the theme and they could slowly leave their seats and find their families – which wasn’t needed to be told twice, at least not to him.

It was Newt who he saw the first, and whose face lit up like a Christmas tree when he noticed Thomas as well. The distance to him was shortly breached and nobody could stop Thomas at that point.

“There’s my-mpff!”

“Thomas, have some manners!”

Eh, who cared.

***

“I said I’m sorry.”

It felt like Deja vie, with Janson scolding him like a kid for a thing that connected him, Newt and a public display of affection (although, he had to admit, the first case hadn’t been public, but it made him get back downstairs late). Of course Newt wasn’t any real help in the family mess (“What, I didn’t initiate it, I only participated!”), Teresa only laughed at him because she could and Ava looked so disapproving he was afraid she would pull out divorcing papers, demanding them to sign it up.

In the end the punishment for this was pretty apparent – no way could he go with Newt to New York straight away, _nope_. They had to go to Ava’s house first and nobody was listening to his refusals (not even Newt, although he always squeezed his hand tighter and whispered _it’s fine_ to his ear).

“Put your things to your room, change and come back down,” Ava told him right the moment they entered the house and left him to it, not giving him an opportunity to say anything back. He was just glad Newt followed him there, so he didn’t feel as obligated to argue with her as he normally would.

“So what is she up to?” he asked his husband once they reached Thomas’ room and he noticed there was even Newt’s luggage there, which was already suspicious.

“World domination, I assume,” Newt shrugged and leaned over Thomas’ back so he could rest his chin on his shoulder. “Does it surprise you?”

“I dunno,” Thomas shrugged and reached for Newt’s hands so he could pull them around his waist. “But you seem involved and that scares me.”

“I wouldn’t be if it was bad,” the blond assured him. “I just thought, maybe after a year it was time for a second chance?”

“So what, you made up with her and now you’re besties?” Thomas snorted – the image alone was bizarre enough. “Did she share her secret chicken broth recipe?”

“What, there is something secret on how to make chicken broth?” Newt faked surprise and then chuckled. “Nah. But we had a talk. I realize she actually is a decent human being when not angry. Guess it counts for something.”

“Wait, for real?” Thomas disentangled from the hold and turned to face his husband with a genuine amazement. Newt had an open expression on his face and there was simply no doubt about what he was saying. But still – Ava? “You asked her for it or…?”

“Nope, she did,” Newt shrugged. “ _As a graduation gift_ , she said. _We’re family after all_. Yeah, had the same expression you have when she told me.”

Thomas had a feeling he was going to gather his jaw from the floor soon. They were family? She included Newt as well? Were fishes going to rain soon too?

“I don’t know what to say,” he admitted after several seconds and Newt patiently waited. “I mean… that’s kinda amazing?”

“Yeah, I guess it kinda is,” the blond grinned and pecked Thomas on the lips. “Now seriously, get changed and come back downstairs. I can’t stay here too long cuz I promised not to have sex with you the first thing after we get here.”

“You actually _promised_?” Thomas crossed his arms on his chest in doubt and Newt took a step back and laughed.

“I had to, otherwise she would make me sleep in a different room at night, and we don’t want that,” he winked at Thomas mischievously and before he could respond anyhow, Newt disappeared in the hallway and Thomas remained in his old room alone.

So she expected them to stay the night as well? As long as there were not going to be any troubles… Thomas considered it bearable.

***

“Thomas, finally,” Ava greeted him once he emerged in the living room with rather impatient expression. “Come here. You have a say in this as well.”

“Oh goodie, here I thought I was just supposed to stand here and look pretty,” he responded and earned an eye roll from her. Fair enough.

He sat next to Newt, immediately reaching for his hand, and it spread a nice, warm feeling through him. It had been so damn long since he felt at peace like that, with no rush or stress the weekend was going to be over, or the holiday already ended and he had to go back to college. Nope, this time it was final and Thomas probably never felt happier.

“I actually like the blue and white theme of it,” Ava started talking again and he raised an eyebrow. God, he hoped this was not about the decoration of Thomas’ former room or something. “I mean, it’s a celebration, it shouldn’t be too dark or have an attacking undertone.”

“It’s fine by me,” Newt shrugged, seemingly very well informed of what was going on. “Not to mention Thomas looks good in white.”

“Thank you?” Thomas added in confusion and Newt smirked and patted his knee. “What are you talking about?”

“The wedding, of course,” Ava responded like it was super obvious and Thomas almost choked. “You didn’t think I’d let you off this easily, did you?”

“But…”

“I’m still bitter about it,” she added with a stern look. “But seems he has a good influence on you. So give me at least this.”

“Newt?” he turned to his husband in despair and the blond smiled at him gently.

“I thought it’s not needed as well, but I guess we do own them that,” he explained and Thomas really wondered what the hell was Ava talking to him about. “It’s just a… um. Redo? No divorce, no drastic measures. Just a second shot of what we know, but with more people.”

“Speaking of more people, you didn’t give me an answer about your family, Newt,” Ava pointed out and pulled out an apparent attendance sheet from under other dozen of papers.

“It all would be much happier without them attending,” Newt made a face and Ava seemed surprised. “We don’t get along very well.”

“Oh,” she voiced out and glanced at Thomas like she was asking about his opinion. It was a thing – Thomas knew about Newt’s family being unsupportive when he was younger, therefore not exactly welcomed from Newt’s perspective. But it also had been years since then and apparently nothing really changed.

Or maybe Newt decided not to bother with it anymore.

“I suppose it’s better for the skeletons to remain closed in the wardrobe,” he commented with a shrug. Newt seemed grateful, so there was no need for dragging nasty feelings into a supposedly joyous occasion (or a really embarrassing one, Thomas thought).

“Alright,” Ava nodded and thankfully didn’t make a big deal out of it. “Is there anybody else you want to invite then?”

Newt’s lips widened in a grin and Thomas simply _knew_ the wedding was going to be loud as hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: The speech about relatives during the ceremony is taken from Iowa ceremony speech. I have no idea what would be said there normally, since Czech doesn't have it in such degree, so I shamelessly copied it :D


	27. One Shot: The Wedding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous asked:  
> NEWTMAS first in love loses WEDDING ANNIVERSARY ONE SHOT pleaseeee but make it thomas want make it very special for newt bcs u know, newt and his good and vulnerable heart so thomas want to make him happy he asked theresa/brenda/even minho to help him prepare the anniv surprise OMG IT'D SO CUTE leave me alone T.T 
> 
> Choice1 asked:  
> You should do a chapter where Ava wants Newt and Thomas to have ceremony with their family and friends... Love this chapter by the way!!!
> 
> Pat asked:  
> Can I request a one shot that they renew their wedding vows after a year with the sincere love that was lacking at their first marriage?
> 
> Jonipony asked:  
> I think you mentioned that Ava wanted a redo wedding that she could be at so maybe you could do that for a one shot?
> 
> runeraccoon asked:  
> Ideas... I think Ava will demand a wedding ceremony after Thomas graduate. Or actually goes OOC instead and throw him a surprise party which he has no choice but to attend as a groom, because an eye for an eye haha. I quite like mother hen Ava actually :3

“I can’t believe you knew about this and didn’t tell me?”

“But that wouldn’t be a surprise at that point,” Newt opposed with a smile and didn’t look guilty at all. Hell, he was probably super amused by Thomas’ absolute dumbfound expression _and_ the fact Ava and him had been planning the wedding like besties.

“But it’s a wedding!”

“Well, it’s definitely not a funeral,” the blond shrugged. “But hey, it’s not official. It’s like… for show, you know? I mean, I understand why it made your aunt angry.”

Thomas stopped mid move and turned to Newt in all seriousness.

“Who are you and what did you do with my husband?” he pointed at him threateningly and Newt snorted and batted his offensive hand away. “It’s suspicious. You’re defending her.”

“I told you we talked about it,” Newt opposed lightly. “Look, I don’t hold grudges if I can help it. Bad for your karma. As long as you can reason with the person, it’s all good.”

“And you reasoned with Ava.”

That sounded like from a movie. She actually initiated it? Was there a catch? He kind of expected her to have a hidden motive, maybe how to get them live here or how to guilt trip Newt to divorce instead of re-marry, or…

“Hey,” Newt flicked his forehead with a chuckle. “It’s fine. I checked. No hidden threats. She just wants to see you happy – and she considers the wedding a big part of your life, so she wants to see it.”

“What made her change her mind so suddenly?” Thomas protested anyway and Newt started walking again, so he followed him to his room (well, their room, really). At least Ava didn’t decide to keep them apart until they re-married, because that would be the last nail into the coffin and Thomas would definitely lose his mind. It wasn’t just because he didn’t touch Newt for a long time (or you know… _touch_ ), but it was the simple arrangement of actually falling asleep with him and then waking up with him as well, and he seriously missed it so much at college his friends were making fun of him.

“Suddenly?” Newt repeated with a small laugh. “It had been almost a year. I wouldn’t call it sudden.”

“I would.”

“Believe it or not, she _minds_ ,” Newt shrugged and opened the door to Thomas’ room with a quiet nod. Thomas entered first and flopped on the bed with a heavy sigh, the stress from today’s ceremony slowly fading away, just to be replaced with so much information at the same time that he felt like his head was going to explode.

“What, that she acted like a complete douche a year ago?” he uttered dryly and Newt flopped right next to him.

“Yeah,” he said simply. “It’s a bad habit, I guess. Lashing out when there is nothing she could do to the situation bend to her will. But if I take it you were dependant on her all your life and suddenly decided not to without warning, I guess I understand it shocked her. But instead of trying to understand why, she attacked and tried to get you back in the line. And failed.”

“Seriously, _what_ were you talking about?” Thomas groaned and Newt turned to his side and snuggled closer to Thomas while resting his head on his chest. It made Thomas calmer, that for sure, so he circled his arm around Newt’s back and pulled him even closer.

“Well. You, mainly. She explained why she acted like she did. I told her I don’t agree with her statements, she said she understood. Then we buried the hatchet and she mentioned the wedding issue,” the blond mumbled and Thomas could barely imagine him and Ava sitting somewhere, talking like that. “As much as I don’t feel like the Vegas wedding was bad – well, as much as at that point could go, really – taking it from her point of view it probably was bit of a downer she couldn’t attend.”

“So she ordered another one and you were fine with it?” Thomas responded doubtfully and Newt raised his head to look Thomas in the eye.

“Are you not fine with it?” he asked a little confused. “I mean… I didn’t think it would be an issue. But if you mind, we can say no, of course.”

Thomas took a deep breath and let it back out in order to put more thought into it. It wasn’t like he minded per se, it hadn’t been that long since they talked with Newt they would definitely marry each other again if they could. The wedding itself wasn’t an issue. But the fact Ava ordered it made him rather dissatisfied, like they were falling under her rule again.

“You want to?” he inquired after a moment and Newt hummed.

“I kinda do,” he shrugged. “I mean, marrying you cuz I’m in love with you holds a certain appeal, you know? All the sappiness and stuff… people crying…”

“Ugh.”

“But I’m not going to push,” the blond added. “So think about it. Let me know after you’ve decided?”

There wasn’t anything to decide – Thomas already knew he was going to say yes. He was pretty sure even Newt was aware and just wanted to give him freedom in case of stubbornness. It was sweet of him, and an actual image of marrying him now, while hopelessly in love, was… nice.

“Do I really need to wear white though?” he sighed and Newt started laughing.

***

The wedding was on the anniversary day of their official wedding and Thomas was pretty sure Ava did it on purpose. There was a week that remained until then and the preparations were in full throttle, which made him a little afraid of what was going to be the result (or better – how big the crowd was going to be). The white and blue theme stayed, as well as white clothes they had to wear, and he suspected Ava having a field day with this, being able to command such huge occasion.

He was just glad she left him out of it, mostly.

“Taste this,” a spoonful of a wedding cake was pushed into his mouth right the moment he entered the kitchen and he almost choked on it, because Teresa stuck it down his throat. “Good?”

“Tastes like death,” he cleared his throat when she extracted the spoon and she made a face at him. “Nice try though, killing a groom one week before the wedding.”

“It’s fine, we have another one, just in case,” she smiled sweetly and bounced back to the kitchen counter. There were several pastries ready to be tasted and she apparently volunteered for it, which he couldn’t blame her for. Those things were usually so damn good and he remembered when they kept on dancing around kitchen when they were little and one of the relatives was marrying.

“Speaking of which, have you seen Newt?” he looked around the place, not seeing the blond even there. He had been searching for him for at least ten minutes now, and the house was slowly becoming a maze, with all the possibilities where the man could be hiding.

“I think he went to the garden with Brenda?” she pointed out of the window that faced the west side of the flowery bed (it was Ava’s pride, all kind of flowers were blooming there, almost the whole year at least something, and Thomas had to admit it was really pretty. Even covered it snow it held certain appeal, all sparkling and neat). “How was the night by the way?”

“Good?” he glanced at her in confusion. “Why?”

“The bed is small,” she shrugged. “Wasn’t sure if you mind or not.”

“Definitely not,” Thomas shrugged. They were sleeping tied together like a pretzel, even if they had to deal with a small sofa, they would manage. The long-time apart simply gravitated them together and neither of them minded it. Well, at least Thomas didn’t, and Newt seemed satisfied as well.

“Ava wanted to move you to a bigger guest room, but Newt said it’s fine, so,” she pointed out lightly. “Guess he knows you well.”

Thomas smirked and waved her off, leaving for the garden. There had been a small issue about the wedding anniversary – of course it was nice to _celebrate_ it with another big-ass ceremony and all, but Thomas actually wanted something intimate as well, something Newt wouldn’t know about, that would make him happy. Now, when the wedding was scheduled on the same day, he wasn’t sure when or how was he going to pull it off without all the people around interrupting it.

_Gotta think of something._

He found his husband (or soon-to-be-husband, no.2) in the bower with Brenda, just as Teresa said. They were talking about New York and Thomas wasn’t spotted until he stood right in front of them, eying them with suspicion.

“What are you two scheming here?” he asked with faked seriousness and Newt reached out to offer a small kiss before sitting back down.

“Just talking about living in New York,” Brenda shrugged like it was no big deal for her to talk about such things all of sudden. “Sounds expensive.”

“What, you wanna move there or something?” Thomas sat next to his husband with raised eyebrows and Newt leaned into his frame. “Newt, have you offered her a place to stay again? I told you we’re not picking up strays.”

“I think this cat already has an owner though,” Newt chuckled when Brenda bristled at Thomas, literally like a wild feline. “No shelter is needed.”

“Oh?” he raised an eyebrow. Was it about Harriet? Well, officially he didn’t know about her, so there wasn’t much to say.

“Don’t play dumb,” Brenda stuck her tongue at Thomas. “You already know about her.”

“Oh well,” he shrugged. It was probably Aris who told him for the first time though, and that was already long time ago. “So you still date?”

“What do you think, lover boy?” she stared at him with narrowed eyes and he sighed.

“Why am I on your shit list again?”

“You never left it,” she said and yelped when Newt smacked her over her head with a roll of papers he was holding.

“Quit it,” he told her sternly. “He’s on your side, you know.”

She pouted a little, but at least didn’t really say anything anymore, only watched them from a corner.

“Teresa just tried to kill me with a cake,” Thomas turned back to Newt and the blond grinned.

“Unsuccessfully, as I see it,” he commented while picking on Thomas’ shirt absentmindedly. “It’s a huge ruckus around it, eh?”

“Yeah, I’m expecting ice swans as well,” Thomas sighed. “Maybe we should have told them to come to Vegas, have another go there?”

“Aw, but I don’t like Vegas,” Newt faked a precise whine. “So bloody loud and weird.”

“Yeah, not my favourite place either,” Thomas shrugged in agreement and Brenda on the other side of the bench snorted.

“You’re weird,” she commented. “I’d kill for being able to go to Vegas.”

“Once you’re legal, you may have a go,” Thomas waved his hand without even looking at her and heard her grumble something. “Not to mention if you wanna move to NY, you need to start saving up anyway.”

“Ugh.”

He only heard steps disappearing and when he turned around again, Brenda was gone.

“How serious is it?” he looked back at Newt and the blond shrugged.

“I think pretty much,” he offered. “I mean even Harriet is into it a lot, I was just asking Brenda if she minds her coming to the wedding or if she wants to keep it secret. Pretending not minding when somebody you love is at the same place is difficult.”

“What did she say?” Thomas tilted his head to the side and Newt reached for his hand and intertwined their fingers together.

“She wants her here,” he replied calmly. “Maybe announce it as well, but that’s just my guess.”

“Oh boy,” Thomas voiced out, the image of Ava hearing about it was already wild enough. “That’s going to be crazy.”

“Maybe,” the blond smiled. “But maybe she’s not as secretive as she thought.”

“You mean Ava already knows?”

“We will see,” Newt shrugged again and Thomas prayed the house would be still standing after the wedding.

***

It all started in the morning. The whole explosive chain of events gradually rose up in frequency during the whole day and Thomas was sure the finish would probably be literally _insane_.

The first thing that indicated the process was an arrival of Newt’s friends (carefully taught _not_ to talk about the Vegas’ wedding other than _yes, we were there, yes, they loved each other and yes, it wasn’t random and a hoax at all_ while smiling brightly).

“No Alby,” Minho said the first thing once he saw Thomas and he patted him on the shoulder as in a _good job_. Newt made a face at both of them, but it was worth it. It was also probably the last time Thomas saw Newt for long hours ahead, since the true madness started and everybody was too busy with their own thing – dressing up, checking the equipment, finishing the food, fishing for music that was supposed to be already prepared and if Thomas wanted to be honest, he had a feeling a long, calming nap would do him good.

But once Teresa got him in her claws, he had no chance of escaping. Instead of that she forced him to get dressed and when Minho and Brenda started nagging into it as well, Thomas wanted to cry.

“Stop whining, we’re here to help with your sissy surprise,” Brenda told him with an eye roll and he had an itch to tell her to go munch on Harriet somewhere instead. Her only plus point was she showed him the blindfold.

“Think we should tell Harriet her girlfriend is into kinky plays,” Minho snickered, sitting on the stool in the room. “She keeps saying how innocent Brenda is, little she knows her true face.”

“Thomas is the kinky one,” Brenda glared at him unhappily. “One word and you’re dead.”

“Nice family you have here, Thomas,” Minho pointed out but didn’t look phased at all. “Friendly as hell.”

“Yeah, I keep saying I must be adopted,” Thomas mumbled and snatched the blindfold from the girl. “Thanks though, Brenda. Your sacrifice is going to be remembered.”

“Until today evening, then he’ll be too busy with handling Newtie.”

“Too much information!” she barked and disappeared behind the doors, followed by devious laughter.

***

“Where is your vest?!”

“In the living room, calm down, Ava,” Thomas reached for his aunt with both hands, gripping her shoulders to still her. She looked like she hadn’t slept for days and had too much on her plate and he seriously feared if the heart-attack wasn’t approaching in a lightning speed.

“Only one hour left-,”

“I know,” he assured her gently. “Don’t be so worked up. It’s me and Newt who should be nervous and we’re not.”

At least he wasn’t, he couldn’t speak for Newt that surely – he hadn’t seen him for _hours_. Yet he couldn’t imagine the guy getting nervous about a wedding like that, it was basically just a show for the audience, and Newt usually could tell what the audience wanted.

Ava took a deep breath, then another, and finally nodded.

“I just want it to be perfect,” she said quietly. “I know it’s not new for you, but I didn’t see you getting married, it’s getting me…”

“Hysterical?” he offered and yeah, he probably earned that specific glare. “It’s fine. A wedding of these proportions is a little new for us as well.”

And a wedding where they were going to kiss because they loved each other as well, but he was never going to tell her that. It was enough it meant a lot to him, and even though he had been sceptical at first of this whole thing orchestrated like a puppet show, he was kind of glad they did it, no matter how embarrassing it was going to be in front of his whole family (and friends, and friend’s friends, and…).

“Go get ready,” she nudged him a little. “Find the vest. We’re going to start soon.”

“In an hour,” he reminded her and she looked as strict as ever.

“ _Soon_ ,” she empathized and left him to it, only clicking of her high heels sounded behind her.

Thomas wasn’t nervous – maybe exactly because he knew she was. It was like a safe guard, if Ava wasn’t sure of something, it usually meant he had been (which was a funny mechanism, but it worked). That eternal calm was almost eerie in its way, but it was Newt who waited for him, and that already meant an instant success.

“Now when I think about it,” Minho suddenly appeared on his side with a drink in his hand. “Your wedding night must have _sucked_ so bad, man.”

“There was no wedding night,” Thomas rolled his eyes at the man, earning a big smile. “We just talked about important things.”

“Yeah, like I said, it _sucked_ ,” Minho patted him on the shoulder. “But now you have a second chance, how about that?”

_Oh right!_

With all the hassle around, Thomas completely forgot there was a wedding night before them, a proper one they could enjoy to the fullest. It wasn’t like they never had sex before, but _a wedding night_ simply held an appeal that made him already excited.

“Well, judging from the expression, I bet nobody in this house is getting any sleep tonight,” Minho grinned. “Oh, also. The fireworks are on the spot, so don’t need to worry about that.”

“You’re a pretty cool friend,” Thomas smiled at him happily and Minho showed him thumbs up. Actually the whole bunch from Newt’s side had been literal Friends from the TV series, helpful, supportive and loud like hell. Also a little silly, but that was a part of it.

***

“Get that out of my face,” Thomas glared at Teresa with all his might, but she still stubbornly held the bouquet in her hands, handing it to him. “I’m not going to carry this!”

“Then Newt can,” she opposed with a pout. “C’mon, one of you gotta throw it after and all.”

“All I’d throw would be my breakfast if either of us have to carry this,” Thomas batted her hand away. “No is a no!”

“You’re such a spoilsport!” she hit him over the head with the bouquet and then glanced at her watch. “Fine, we’re starting. _Without_ a bouquet. Ava won’t be pleased.”

“Shush,” he nudged her towards the exit and she gave him one more glare before actually disappearing behind the door.

Thomas was glad there had been no real training session, no order _how_ to walk or where, no spots and timed entrances – even though Ava did try to orchestrate it before Thomas said no and Newt laughed too hard to be able to walk. So she gave up, thankfully, and all Thomas had to do was walk up to the isle (and thankfully _not_ through the alley like a bride, but from the side next to the isle), stand there and say yes.

He already peeked inside of the room and it was full to bursting. He had no idea why Ava had an inclination to make this bigger than it needed to be, but it was in her blood, so either he’d have to give her a thorough transfusion or simply get in terms she had to have control at least over _something._

He took a deep breath, then another, and realized the nervousness he kept on spouting he didn’t feel, was actually gripping him from all sides like in a vice. It wasn’t the fact people were going to stare. Not even the fact Ava would be watching his every step like a vulture. It was Newt – Newt waiting for him, Newt willing to go through this puppet show for him, Newt all bright and happy and smiling and-

-standing right in front of the isle already, in white shirt and black pants, looking mesmerizing. Thomas almost tripped on his way up there how he couldn’t tear his eyes away from him, and Newt smiled at him happily.

“Oh, good, you didn’t take the bouquet,” he whispered to Thomas quietly when he managed to stand at his spot without any obvious falling down or tripping too visibly. “I was afraid Teresa would use violence.”

“She did,” Thomas mumbled back. “No use though.”

“I know why I love you,” the blond chuckled and quickly squeezed his hand in a comforting gesture. “You look nervous.”

“Ha, who is nervous?” Thomas replied, but made the mistake of glancing towards the audience just to notice it was even worse from the front. Then he spotted Ava, frowning at him.

“Shit. I forgot the vest.”

“Maybe now it’s the right time to feel nervous,” Newt gently caressed his back and then the official cleared his throat and asked them if they were ready to start. Thomas kind of hoped they were going to make it sooner than Ava would pierce a hole in his skull with her glare.

***

Thomas still remembered the Vegas wedding clearly, even though it mostly made him uneasy at that time, and then he drank a lot. But the point still remained – he recalled who were waiting in the line before them, what Newt was wearing, how Teresa looked like a mass murderer and how Newt’s friends were probably the happiest bunch around the chapel. He could recall Minho’s slightly drunk signing of a testimony, even the so-called-kiss in the end with Newt, and as much as it was unwanted at that time, Thomas thought of it as a nice memory.

Of course, _now_ it was different, because everybody had been still kind of sober, Minho’s signature looked pretty much legit and the kiss they shared after they said their _yes_ and the official gave them the blessing to do so, was flawless and probably a little too much, since Sonja (Newt’s _best man_ ) piped something about children watching.

Thomas saw Ava shedding a tear and when Teresa stubbornly brought them the bouquet; Thomas grabbed it with an eye roll and threw it to the crowd, just to get several yelps and then a victorious shriek of some happy woman he didn’t even know.

“Nice catch,” Newt commented with respect in his voice. “How does it go – one year and they’ll marry?”

“I think one year and a day,” Thomas shrugged. “Does it count when we are already married though? This is more like… a repeat.”

“Judging from Ava’s expression it counts,” Newt smirked and touched Thomas’ lower back. “Which reminds me – are we repeating the wedding night as well?”

“What, you mean the talking wasn’t romantic enough for you?” Thomas faked a shock and Newt hummed with a thoughtful expression.

“Unless you want to talk about my erogenous zones, then no, it wasn’t romantic enough,” he told him sweetly and Thomas decided the best defence was the offence, so he kissed him instead.

***

It was around ten in the evening when the Thomas managed to get out of the spotlight Ava put him and Newt in. No matter he apologized for the vest (she mentioned it for about six times during the day), no matter he told her the wedding really didn’t need to have a toast and somebody talking about them (she still did, although he had to admit it was surprisingly nice and she wished them happiness to the future, which made Newt shockingly meek and probably also slightly embarrassed, especially when she told him she didn’t mind anymore he hadn’t asked her for Thomas’ hand – “ _God, Ava, really?!”_ ). No matter any of those things, because despite them it was _brilliant_.

“Oi, come out with me for a sec?” Thomas pulled on Newt’s sleeve when they finally managed to get out of the main topic of the whole table, and Newt mutely nodded and rose up.

“Thomas, on three!” Minho shouted from another corner and Thomas snorted.

“On three?” Newt repeated dubiously and Thomas shrugged while leading his husband out of the dining room.

“Private sex joke, I suppose,” he added with a smirk.

“You have private sex jokes with my friends?” Newt faked a dramatic sigh. “How preposterous.”

“You’re besties with my aunt, we are even,” Thomas shot back and Newt barked out a laugh and nodded in agreement, following Thomas to the garden’s door. “Okay, now I need you to trust me, okay?”

“How’s that even in question?” the blond raised an eyebrow and smiled when Thomas’ eyes narrowed. “I trust you, don’t worry. Wouldn’t marry you the second time if I did not.”

“Maybe you’re after my body only,” Thomas pointed out when turning Newt to face the door and then pulled out the blindfold from Brenda. “Close your eyes.”

“Well, your body is a nice bonus, I have to-what the…?”

“Keep still,” Thomas poked his back in reprimand. “Let me put this on you.”

“Is it going to be kinky?”

“You’re kinky.”

“Well, yes,” the blond chuckled. “But I didn’t think you have it in ya.”

“We will talk later about who has it in them, yeah?” Thomas kissed Newt’s neck and the blond finally stood still enough for Thomas to put the blindfold on.

“Thomas talking dirty, mate, the world must be ending,” Newt blindly reached behind himself, just to touch Thomas’ chest. “What are you planning?”

“Sacrificing you to demons, what else?” Thomas batted his hands away and Newt grinned.

“Virgin would work better though,” the blond suggested happily. “Just sayin’.”

“You’ll suffice, virgin or not, you’re hot enough to burn through the marble altar.”

Newt almost choked, but it least made him quiet, so Thomas could open the door and lead him outside. It was already dark, but the wind blowing was warm and pleasant and everything smelled like summer. It worked out perfectly, like there was some kind of higher power in charge of the weather tonight.

For once Thomas was glad his family decided to be snobbish and build a summer house in the back of the garden, because it meant a secluded place, quiet and perfectly suitable for his needs – and even though Newt probably already knew about it (after a week and half spent here he had to, or it would be a pure miracle), Thomas was almost adamant in the fact he hadn’t been there lately, therefore still hopefully not knowing about Thomas’ intentions (that was why Brenda got involved in the first place – she simply stumbled on Thomas and his heavy planning right in the summer house, and as much as Thomas found it low even for him, he threatened to blackmail her if she peeped a single word. So she didn’t, and actually found a blindfold for him, so kudos for the girl, even though he was probably never going to make it off the shit list of hers).

The point was – lots of people helped. Minho was a golden boy and probably did the hardest work of them all, and even Teresa decided she had time for this next to the wedding ruckus. And he was grateful for their help, because he wouldn’t be able to do this in time otherwise.

“Where are we going?” Newt asked after a while of walking and Thomas finally saw the summer house appearing in between the cherry trees.

“Somewhere nobody will hear you beg,” he replied and nibbled on Newt’s bare neck to empathize on the statement. It only made Newt snort though and Thomas was glad, because it came out creepier than he intended to.

“Okay, now careful,” he warned the blond softly, leading him up the stairs to the second floor of the summer house, and right to the balcony.

“Now I know how Esmeralda felt,” Newt commented with a sigh, slowly walking forward, his steps hesitant. “I wouldn’t like to be blind, let me tell you.”

“Of course not, you’d miss all of me that way,” Thomas smirked and almost could hear how Newt rolled his eyes under the blindfold. “Okay, stop here.”

“Stopping,” Newt mumbled and took a deep breath. Thomas quickly checked if everything needed was on its place, and when he was sure, he reached for the blindfold.

 _On three_.

He stepped on a pedal Minho conveniently prepared and pulled at the end of the blindfold like it was a curtain once the countdown reached zero, making it possible for Newt to see again – and just in time. The dark sky lit up with colourful fireworks right the moment and Newt remained staring at it like somebody froze him all over.

“Is this…?”

“Happy anniversary, love,” Thomas nuzzled him from behind, circling his waist with his arms, and the colours danced over Newt’s skin like fireflies. He could hear faint cheering coming from the family house, the fireworks probably hearable all the way there, and felt Newt taking a shaky breath, before he turned around to face Thomas and buried his face in his shirt.

“All good?” he touched Newt’s back, feeling him trembling a little, and the blond nodded and buried his face even more while mumbling something. “Newt?”

“I said _thank you_ ,” this time a little louder. “And _give me a second_.”

“Sure,” Thomas kissed the top of Newt’s head and held him gently in silence. He didn’t sound upset or angry, but his voice was rather shaky and Thomas wasn’t sure if he didn’t mess up somehow. But it was just fireworks, surely it couldn’t be as bad? Unless he triggered him somehow.

_Oh god. I fucked up, didn’t I._

“How the bloody hell do I even deserve you?” Newt’s voice interrupted his inner panic attack and he stiffened. “You got me fireworks?”

“Well, I’ve actually planned to let you see it, then carry you bridal style back inside of the house and make love to you, but…” he hesitated and when Newt finally looked at him and his eyes were glazed, he felt like facepalming. “I didn’t mean to upset you, I swear-,”

“What?” Newt blinked, staring at him with wide eyes. The distant booming of fireworks was slowly diminishing until the night remained quiet again. “Upset me? Are you nuts?”

“You look upset,” Thomas pointed out grudgingly. There went his so-called romantic planning.

“I’m overwhelmed, you _tit_ ,” Newt raised his hands and caught Thomas’ face in between them. “Nobody ever did this for me. And I got you just dinner at Franco’s, I should be saying-,”

“At Franco’s?” Thomas interrupted him with wide eyes. “Awesome!”

“It… is?”

“Okay, bridal style _now_!” He didn’t wait for Newt to say anything else, he just grabbed him like a princess, earning a yelp, and carried him back inside of the summer house, to the prepared bed (thank you, Teresa!) and soft sheets.

The wedding night was right and proper and Thomas decided to surprise Newt more often from now on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetad!
> 
> God, this was a long one shot *exhausted*. I meant to put a bit smut in there, but in the end decided to leave it where it was ^^'


	28. One Shot: Newt's Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lizzy asked:  
> pls dont forget one shots about newt's family, or thomas and ava continuation? 
> 
> Jonipony asked:  
> Maybe sometime we'll get to meet Newt's family?
> 
> Guest asked:  
> Is it possible for newt to have a breakdown so we'll have some angst and thomas will have this realization that this is what he has to deal with but he doesnt mind:(
> 
> I think there was more of the asks about the family, but I couldn’t find it ^^’

“Morning, sunshine.”

“How long are you awake?” Newt padded down the stairs and to Thomas so he could kiss his cheek. The clock showed few minutes past seven and Thomas couldn’t sleep since 5, his brain refusing to rest. There were plans he had in progress and no matter how he tried to switch off the working pace at night, he simply could not. So he got up at 5 AM, made himself cup of coffee, unrolled the prospects and started mauling over it again – and apparently for two hours he didn’t even notice that passed, when Newt actually woke up already.

“A while,” he decided to be vague and realized he didn’t make Newt breakfast or anything, even though he had been here for two hours. “I’ll make you breakfast in a sec.”

“It’s fine, I can make-,”

“I will, I will.”

Newt shook his head, but actually left him to it and padded to the bathroom, and Thomas let out a long, suffering breath. He was really glad he got job so early, and even in the field he studied in, but it was making his brain _crazy_. And Newt definitely thought he was insane too – getting up so early and everything when he normally loved a goodnight sleep, that wasn’t like him at all.

He took one last look on the prospect and then forced himself to abandon it for now and make Newt breakfast with a yawn. It was pretty cool, this arrangement – Newt actually learned to eat in the morning (not just bite a bit and leave it), so he would never forgive himself not to make him anything when he could.

“Look at my diligent little architect,” Newt commented when he got back and Thomas was staring into the prospect again, with food done and just waiting for coffee to pop. “Working so hard.”

“I think I’m losing my sanity, to be quite honest,” Thomas sighed and poured coffee into Newt’s favourite cup. “Couldn’t stop thinking about it, it even woke me up.”

“Aw mate, that’s cute,” Newt reached for him when Thomas walked towards the table and touched his hip gently. “But hey, it’s a first job you have; of course you’re invested in it a lot.”

It was a thing with Newt – he never stopped being supportive. When Thomas got the job, they celebrated, because Newt deemed it important, and Thomas couldn’t even tell in the right words how much he loved this human. And the never-ending support continued forward without a single hiccup and Thomas sometimes thought he must have been living in some sort of fantasy land, because Newt simply couldn’t be real.

“You think you’ll be home early today?” he asked while raking through Newt’s soft hair and the blond first sipped coffee before making a vague hand gesture.

“Can’t tell to be honest,” he replied. “I mean – yesterday nothing really indicated today would be long, but I never know. Why? Have something planned?”

“Nah, was just curious,” Thomas shrugged with a smile. “Not to mention you may find me doing handstand just to get some blood in my head to start thinking again.”

“A secret gymnast, aren’t you?” Newt chuckled and glanced at his watch. “K, gotta go. Thanks for the breakfast, love.”

Thomas got a nice _will be back soon_ kiss and when the door behind his husband closed, the silence of the flat made him immediately lonely. Sometimes he wondered if he had to stay away from Newt, how would he deal with it? Because he got so used to his presence, especially now, after the second wedding and the school out of the way, that not seeing him every day would probably send him into depths of depression.

_Shut up, doubt, let me be happy!_

_Maybe it was time to start working again_ , he decided and returned to the prospect, just to regret it soon after.

***

It was five in the evening when the doorbell rang and Thomas almost knocked over the glass with juice he brought (he would hate himself forever if he spilled it over the prospect). He wasn’t used to visits, not very often – although Newt’s friends stopped by from time to time, but only during weekends _and_ in the morning (and Newt always bristled, but they never really listened and Thomas secretly suspected him not minding it as much as he acted, which was cute).

He still opened though, just to reveal a dark haired woman behind the door, staring at him like he had two heads.

“Hey, may I help you?” he asked politely when she didn’t look like she wanted to do anything, and it apparently knocked some sense back into her, since she adjusted glasses she was wearing and looked him over from head to toe.

“Is Newton home?” she asked in a stern voice and it reminded him of Ava in a very bad mood. She had a high-pitched and rather accusing tone and he didn’t know what her issue was.

“At work,” he responded in confusion. “Does he know you’d stop by or…?”

“No,” another annoyed answer. “When is he coming home?”

“I dunno,” he shrugged, not liking her even for a bit. She was probably around fifty, more or less, with attitude worth a kick to the butt, and he had a feeling she wouldn’t take no as an answer. “It varies day to day.”

“Are you living here with him?” another question and he frowned a little.

“Look, do you want me to tell him you stopped by or…?”

“I’ll wait for him here,” she stated coldly, which for _here_ she apparently meant _in the flat_ , and Thomas had an inclination to shut the door. Seriously, who was this woman?

“I’m his mother,” she added as if she read his mind and Thomas felt his blood ran cold.

***

When he heard the door opening, part of him wanted to run to Newt and stop him from coming any further, and part of him cowardly wanted to wait for Newt to arrive and maybe tell him the woman in the living room was nobody he knew, so he could kick her out. He thought of not letting her in before, of course, but then again – what if it really was Newt’s mum? At that point it would be probably worse than letting her stay, so the dilemma was real.

In the end he managed to at least stand up and make few steps forward before Newt appeared in his field of vision with soft smile, and he awkwardly stopped and pointed at the place the woman had been sitting at, all stiff and proper, and Newt’s expression fell in a second.

“What the-,”

His voice alerted her and once she turned around and saw the blond, she stood up as well, but didn’t go any closer.

“Newton,” she called him by his name with the same stern expression she greeted Thomas with. “Took you long enough. I was trying to call you, but you didn’t pick up.”

“Naturally,” Newt uttered and his body radiated tenseness. He glanced at Thomas with a slight frown and Thomas seriously didn’t know _how_ to react. He knew his husband’s relationship with the family wasn’t good, but keeping his mother out seemed a bit too rude. Thinking about it now though it actually seemed like a smart idea, judging from Newt’s expression.

“You let her in?” Newt asked quietly and Thomas nodded with a silent _sorry_.

“If you picked up your phone, I didn’t need to come here,” she said. Thomas could almost hear the blood in Newt’s veins boil. “Your grandfather died. I came to tell you that. The funeral is on Friday.”

Thomas almost choked. This was how she delivered such sad news? With an unattached expression and cold tone like she was telling him the fucking weather?

Newt didn’t say anything and Thomas nervously looked from one to another in expectation of some kind of conclusion, but they both just stood there in silence stubbornly.

“You’re expected,” she finally broke the tension and then her eyes found Thomas again. He waited for her to say something to him, but she only eyed him for a moment and then looked back at her son. “I sincerely hope you can bury the hatchet at least for that and attend.”

“I sincerely hope you don’t really expect me to,” Newt finally spoke and it was pure venom that dripped from his voice. Thomas probably never heard him like this.

“Well, you were always stubborn…” she commented like she knew what she was going to hear. “I’ll leave you to it, but reconsider. He was your family as well.”

“Good joke!” he snapped back and she finally showed an emotion, looking taken back by it, before the careful mask slipped back in the place. Then she nodded mutely, looked at Thomas one more time like she was trying to put him a label on him somehow, and then left the flat like she was a ghost. The silence stayed until the door shut closed and then some more so they could hear the elevator coming up and leaving the floor.

“I’m sorry,” Thomas decided to break the fragile atmosphere softly. “I shouldn’t have let her in.”

“Yeah, you shouldn’t have,” Newt said quietly. His voice trembled a little. “But it’s not like you knew that, it’s not your fault.”

“Sorry.”

It was almost a scary change – he never saw Newt like this and quite frankly had no idea what to do either. It felt like trying to offer a physical comfort would result in a bad reaction, like Newt was a ticking bomb waiting for the right exploding moment, but at the same time he looked so damn vulnerable it was hard to hold back. He tentatively reached out, his fingers touching Newt’s hand, and when no refusing reaction came, he took a step closer and pulled the blond in a hug. The shivers were real, he noticed, and coursed through Newt in waves, and it almost broke Thomas’ heart. One meeting with his mother and he ended up like that? Or was it because the grandfather’s death? Were they close? Maybe he was the only person from Newt’s family who had a significant meaning?

“You okay?” he whispered to Newt’s hair gently, but Newt didn’t say anything, except of a slight shake of his head in an apparent _no_. “How about we eat?”

“I don’t really feel like eating,” the blond mumbled into Thomas’ shirt. He rested there for a bit more, the shivers slowly subsiding, and then took a deep breath and pulled away. He was pale in the face and his eyes were darkened and when he tried to move away, Thomas automatically caught his hand in an evident worry.

“I’ll just go take a nap,” Newt said as if in defence and Thomas hesitantly let go. “It’s fine, Tommy. I’ll sleep it off.”

“You know I’m here though.” Thomas quickly added and earned a small nod. “For anything.” Another nod. “Okay then. Sleep well?”

“Yeah.”

With that Newt shuffled away, up the stairs and to the bedroom, leaving Thomas with a heavy, dull feeling inside of his stomach alone in the living room.

He _hated_ it.

***

He couldn’t concentrate on a single line or a single number, no matter how hard he tried. He couldn’t shake off Newt’s expression when he realized his mother was in his flat, and the shivers he couldn’t really control when she left. He wanted to go after him, but it felt like Newt wanted to be alone for a while and as much as Thomas respected it, it didn’t make him want to follow him any less.

He ate alone in silence and the food tasted like nothing. He contemplated calling Teresa, asking her if she didn’t know something, but it was unfair towards his husband, so he kept his hands off.

Another hour later he gave up and abandoned all his work and walked up the stairs to the bedroom. He hesitated for a second in front of the door, but then entered with bated breath, just to be greeted with darkness and silence. He recognized Newt’s sleeping form on the bed, curled under the sheets, and crawled on the mattress as carefully as he could.

What if Newt wanted to be alone – like, in a literal sense? Maybe Thomas should have slept in other room for the night or…?

He took a deep breath and slid under the covers, staring at the silhouette of his husband with worry, just to grow bold enough to reach out and gently touch his arm. For a moment no reaction came, but then Newt moved and grabbed Thomas’ hand, just to pull it on his chest, making Thomas go with him with his body, snuggling close.

“Did I wake you?” he asked softly, nuzzling into back of Newt’s neck.

“Not really,” came a quiet reply. “Couldn’t fall asleep anyway.”

“At all?” Thomas frowned. Newt had been here for three hours and didn’t catch a single shut eye? Talk about overthinking stuff.

He felt how Newt intertwined their fingers together and tugged him even closer; holding Thomas’ hand on his chest like it was an animal he didn’t want to run away. He wasn’t trembling anymore, which was a good sign, but the intensity he held him with spoke its own volumes.

A sigh came, then Newt hummed and it seemed like end of discussion. Thomas contemplated pushing a bit more, maybe make him open up, since it usually made people feel better, but then thought better of it and only pressed a light kiss on the bare skin of Newt’s neck and closed his eyes.

“I don’t know if I should go there.”

Thomas’ eyes popped open again under the weak voice coming from his husband and perked up.

“I haven’t seen any of them for seven years. I don’t think I have the strength,” Newt whispered and a wave of shivers started coursing through his body again. Thomas held him tighter.

“Then don’t go,” he mumbled quietly. “If you don’t feel like it.”

_Wait, that was probably insensitive. It was his grandfather after all._

“Although I’m not really suited to give you a proper answer for this, I suppose,” he quickly added and Newt shuffled a little. “I mean, it was your grandpa, so…”

“He was the worst,” came a reply. “Out of them all.”

Thomas stiffened and immediately regretted saying anything. The worst? That was why Newt reacted this badly? Why?

_Don’t push._

“Then don’t go,” he said a little more strongly. “He doesn’t deserve you mourning him.”

“Mourning,” it sounded like snort, but sad and weak, maybe a little disgusted as well. “I feel happy the bastard is gone.”

“Ah.”

“All he could say to me consisted of _fag_ and _good for nothing_ ,” Newt bit out. The shivers grew stronger. “All the bloody time. And nobody told him anything, nobody cared. He could insult me in front of my whole family and they wouldn’t even raise a bloody eyebrow. It was _normal_.”

_Shit. The hell is wrong with his family?_

“Yeah, you’re definitely not going,” he said resolutely. “Fuck them all.”

Newt remained quiet for a while longer, then fidgeted again.

“I suppose it must look pitiful from your point of view,” he uttered dryly. There was something disheartening in his voice, something Thomas wanted to push away to free him from. Like he was suffering and Thomas had no idea _how_ to help him. His family wasn’t exactly ordinary either, but they were supportive and loving and this kind of treatment was so damn alien it was almost unreal to hear about it.

“When I spent time in your house, it was like living on another planet,” Newt continued, now sounding sad more than anything else. “Everybody together without the need to be mean to each other. Without bringing anybody down. I’ve never felt so bloody welcomed in a family like I did in yours, how sad is that?”

“I’d say it was about a damn time,” Thomas responded firmly. “You deserve it. Maybe not Ava, since Ava is an unstable element, but you still do.”

Newt chuckled, although it sounded more like a sob, and Thomas’ chest ached. Wasn’t there anything he could do for this man to make him feel better? It was like Newt completely broke down and it was scary for such cheerful person to change like this.

“How can I deserve any of you?” the blond let out weakly. “After what I’ve done? After trying to throw my life away like a coward?”

“You’ve got another chance,” Thomas pointed out, holding him so tightly it probably had to hurt. He was afraid if he let go, Newt would leave or simply disappear, and that irrational fear grew inside of him like a nine headed monster with sharp teeth. “You’re still here, you’re amazing and I love you. We love you. So many people, Newt. So damn lots of us.”

This time it was definitely a sob and Thomas’ throat tightened. He tugged strongly and was glad when Newt budged and turned around, burying his face in Thomas’ chest as if he wanted to hide the tears. He was shaking really bad and even though he apparently tried to keep the cries inside of him, Thomas could still hear him weep.

It was the first time Thomas felt genuine hatred towards somebody and if Newt’s grandfather – or even his goddamn cold-ass mother would stand here, in this place, he would be able to hurt them. A lot.

***

Thomas woke up alone. He didn’t remember falling asleep, it must have crept on him suddenly, and Newt didn’t wake him up while getting out of the bed either. He stared into the ceiling with a dull feeling in his chest and a weird ache he couldn’t make go away no matter how he tried.

He never saw Newt crying before. He never saw him this desperate and vulnerable. He wanted to do something for him, but he couldn’t think of what apart from being here, holding him, telling him it was going to be alright.

How could anybody even _think_ of hurting this precious soul? Why would his family be such a bunch of monsters for not batting an eyelash of him getting disrespected and desperate to the point of taking his own life? Wasn’t his mother ashamed to be hated by her own son? Ava would literally go mad if any of her kids (and yes, she considered Thomas her kid as well) would hate her to this degree. 

It was not fucking normal.

He sat up, his head hurt and he felt like his body got ran over by a bulldozer. He held Newt tightly for _hours_ , his heart got torn apart by the tears, and even though the crying lasted for maybe few minutes, it stayed in Thomas’ mind like a thorn.

Seriously, he would hurt anybody making Newt cry like this, if he could, if they were in the reach. There must have been so much pain in the man – so much hidden insecurity and sadness and Thomas never knew. He listened when Newt told him about the suicide attempt and the heartbreak, but he sounded like he was over with and not looking back.

His mother must have been a terrible trigger to break him down like this.

The time showed past nine and Thomas let out a tired sigh while getting out of the bed. Newt was already at work – he probably didn’t wake him up in purpose. He couldn’t tell what he was thinking right now, and he wasn’t sure how he was going to behave either. There probably wasn’t even a failsafe practice that would definitely help him to get better either. What could Thomas do for him in this case?

_God, I feel so fucking useless._

He padded down the stairs like a zombie and almost jumped out of his skin when he heard soft _morning_ coming his way from the kitchen. Newt was there, leaning against the counter with a mug in his hands, with sweatpants hanging low on his hips and Thomas’ old t-shirt. It was a little big on him, but adorable anyway (in Thomas’ obviously possessive way of thinking).

“I didn’t feel like going to work today,” Newt said on Thomas’ unvoiced question, and he looked a little better. Still pale and tired, but better. “Called sick.”

“Okay,” Thomas nodded in agreement and Newt raised the mug with _coffee_ question, so he nodded even to that, and when he saw Newt readying to make him one, he disappeared in the bathroom for a quick shower.

When he got back, the steaming mug was already resting on the table and Newt was sitting on the chair, reading something on his phone. Thomas wasn’t exactly sure how to breach the topic, so he only circled the place, kissed Newt on the top of his head and sit on the opposite chair in silence with his coffee.

“This is why Alby didn’t want to have more than what we had,” Newt suddenly said and Thomas stopped mid-sip. Newt wasn’t even looking at him, he still stared into the phone, but he seemed tenser. “Dealing with breakdowns like those… it grows tedious. And weary. And it makes you feel dull inside after a while.”

“I’m not Alby,” Thomas responded without hesitation.

Newt put the phone down with a shaky breath and nodded.

“I know you’re not him,” he said in a low voice. “But it can get worse, you know.”

“I don’t care,” Thomas shot back. “I will support you through anything.”

The silence was so deep he could hear the clock ticking with precision, Newt’s soft breaths playing chorus to it, in and out, in and out. He didn’t care about worse. He didn’t care Alby was a dick and probably couldn’t handle even a hamster. Thomas was ready to be here and to stay and he wanted Newt to understand that.

“Funny,” Newt piped and he was looking at Thomas now, his eyes wide and searching and maybe a little scared. “I think if you were there all those years ago, I wouldn’t do it.”

Thomas felt his breath hitch in his throat, but he held Newt’s gaze steadily.

“I’m here now,” he responded and he meant it. He was here. He was never going to leave. He was never going to give Newt up, and he didn’t care there was _never say never_ saying, because it was the truth and they would have to kill him to let go.

“Yes, you are,” Newt’s lips finally smiled, and it was genuine and loving and Thomas’ heart swelled almost painfully under it. “I can’t be any more grateful than I am now.”

They were going to be alright, Thomas knew it. He just did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetad!
> 
> How I haaaaaate angsty chapters QQ


	29. One Shot: Mourning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous said:  
> Can you write a chapter about Thomas' parents? What happened to them? Like Thomas tells Newt about them and Newt comforts him and bla bla bla hahaha:)

Newt was aware of today, Thomas told him in advance he was going to be gone for a day or two, going to visit the family, and yet he still fought an uncomfortable surprise when he got back from work and didn’t find his husband there. He checked his phone and the fridge’s door for any kind of memo, found nothing, and after few minutes of wondering he looked at the calendar, just to find it marked and his consciousness calmed down.

**Newt – 18:21 – You told me like ten times you’re going to be gone today and I still searched for you :D  How desperate am I? :)**

**Thomas – 18:23 – Aww, babe :)**

Newt chuckled and mentally praised his husband to be who he was – there was food ready in the fridge from him with a note of eating properly, and it was so out of what Newt had been used to before Thomas overruled his life it was almost ridiculous. Yet Newt loved it to the bits, no matter what.

**Newt – 18:26 – Am I interrupting?**

**Thomas – 18:28 – I can postpone the orgy until you’re asleep, dw :)**

“Cheeky,” Newt smiled while replying with the same word and asking about the household. He wasn’t sure why Thomas had to leave at such specific day, but he didn’t mean to pry. He alone didn’t like when somebody was too pushy, so he never did it to others either, and when Thomas said he was going to be gone for a day or two to visit family, he took it as it was.

**Thomas – 18:37 – A bit gloomy, but that’s expected. Ava downed the whole bottle of red wine. Expect her to cry about it tomorrow, her head usually hurts like bitch.**

“Gloomy?” he blinked in confusion.

**Newt – 18:40 – How’s gloomy expected when you visit? I thought Ava is always happy about it.**

**Thomas - 18:50 – Of course she’s happy about it. It’s just an anniversary of my mum’s death, so… gloomy.**

“Bloody hell,” he cursed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Not prying my arse.”

**Newt – 18:52 – Sorry. I didn’t mean to pry. Are you okay?**

**Thomas – 18:55 – Yeah, I am, I don’t remember her as much, so it’s just kinda… distant? I guess. I’m here more for Ava. Sorry I didn’t tell you btw., I didn’t want you to feel bad over it as well. Guess I’ve failed.**

“Oh boy,” Newt sighed, the longing for hugging Thomas was strong and unyielding. They never really talked about his family, as much as they never talked about Newts’ (for much obvious reasons though). He knew Thomas’ mum died when he was about six years old, but he never heard how or why, and also never learned about what happen to his father. But since he lived with his aunt, his dad probably died too, or maybe simply refused to be part of the family.

**Newt – 19:02 – Don’t worry about me, dumbo. How is Ava holding up? Except for the wine escapade.**

Instead of a text the display lit up with Thomas’ name as a caller and Newt quickly pressed the green button, not expecting him to call at all. Geez, if this was practically a family mourning, he had no right to even bother them during it.

“Tommy?” he called his name hesitantly and the first thing he heard was a relieved sigh.

“Sorry, just wanted to hear you,” Thomas responded right after, and sounded more or less normal. “And wanted to have a reason why I can.”

“You don’t need a reason to call me, you know,” Newt chuckled.

“Look, I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you about this-,”

“I told you it’s fine,” Newt stopped him gently. “Family business is a family business. I didn’t mean to barge into it like that either.”

“I’m actually glad you did,” he imagined Thomas shrugging. “I mean, I know it’s a sad thing and all, and I do feel sad about it still, but it had been _years_.”

“Sometimes it’s simply not enough,” Newt reminded him. “For some people.”

“Yeah, Ava is always taking it bad,” Thomas mumbled. “We had been on the grave and everything, as every year. I’ve skipped it last year, I’d feel bad not going now.”

_True, he didn’t leave last year._

“Sorry,” Newt rubbed his eyes. “I never actually thought of asking you about this…”

“It’s not a very cheery topic,” Thomas commented. “Nor an interesting one. Mum died in a car crash and Ava is always taking it as her fault, because it was her who should have drove her that day, but didn’t have time. So she took a taxi from an airport and there was an accident. She died on the spot.”

“Sorry.”

“Yeah, well. It had been 17 years already,” Thomas concluded it with a sigh. “I wish I remembered a little more than I really do, but it’s all kinda hazy.”

“Yeah, it had been a long time, no wonder,” Newt agree. “But at least you can support Ava, if she’s taking it so bad. Pretty sure she needs to know there are people for her.”

“Of course we are here for her,” Thomas muttered and then let out another sigh. “I kinda wish you were here too. I need a hug.”

“I’ll give you as many hugs as you want once you get back, deal?” Newt smiled softly and Thomas made a whining noise on the other side of the line, but then said _yes_. “Good boy. Tell Ava hi.”

“Yeah,” Thomas agreed and Newt could hear doors opening somewhere near. “I’ll be back tomorrow. Love you.”

“Love you too,” Newt responded immediately and when they both hung up, the lonely, quiet flat was just making it gloomier.

“Come home soon,” he whispered and put the phone on the table. He was not looking forward to the cold bed at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetad!
> 
> I apologize there wasn't much of the comforting part x.x

**Author's Note:**

> This had been in my drabbles folder for some time, thought I'd dust it off and try to give it few more chapters ^^

**Works inspired by this one:**

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